A BOOK OF LIFE

FaraZ’s sweeping debut novel examines love, tragedy and the enduring bonds of family.
As World War II ends, the members of the Bartolo family, who operate a modest restaurant in Milan, are mourning the death of their eldest son, Paolo, one of two Bartolo brothers who fought in the war. When Lorenzo Fabrizi, a charismatic friend of surviving brother Cesare, breezes into town with grandiose plans for the future, Cesare is at first skeptical, though he and his beautiful sister Serena are soon entranced. A business partnership is quickly forged among the friends, and Serena falls madly in love. The novel follows the now-joined families as they begin to build a successful business. Spanning several decades, the heart of the story lies in matriarch Serena. She’s deeply religious and fiercely protective of her family, working tirelessly to champion and protect her three children. While the novel juggles several plotlines and a myriad of characters, the touchstone is Serena and how she copes with the family’s trials and triumphs. FaraZ tackles a wide range of topics ranging from infidelity and mental illness to physics and philosophy, with varying degrees of success. The most authentic moments are focused on the inner workings of family. The tension between siblings and parents over conflicting desires is genuine and relatable, and the redemption of Serena’s youngest son, who refuses to recognize his illegitimate daughter, is particularly poignant. With dialogue written as if the novel were a play, characters often have long, drawn-out monologues; a character might monopolize pages in long speeches, many focused on the merits of physics and theology. Many of these repetitive, unnatural conversations are from minor characters and seem more developed than those within the larger plotlines. As is, this moving generational novel spans decades but perhaps explores one too many themes.
A dramatic, at times unwieldy story about a tumultuous Italian family.