Happy Ending (First Edition)

A mysterious young drifter becomes a catalyst in the story of three women--a proud matriarch and her two daughters-in-law--and a solitary art forger-turned-dealer as they struggle to cope with their flawed relationships

One of the new Italian novelists who write in the manner of Umberto Eco, Duranti won international success with her 1984 novel The House on Moon Lake ( LJ 1/86). Her latest book offers reading pleasure similar to some of Muriel Spark's books. Together with Aldo, a famous art dealer with a shady past, Violante, the reigning matriarch of a mismatched family, works on a plan to distribute her responsibilities among her family members. Her son, her two daughters-in-law, and Aldo are spending a weekend on her country estate when a young man unexpectedly arrives and becomes the catalyst of change in everyone's lives and relationships. Except for the radiant Violante, the characters are not all that attractive, but one ends up liking them anyway. This is a beautiful novel, lively and intelligent, written in graceful, sensual prose, inviting the reader to reflection and aesthetic enjoyment.
- Ulla Sweedler, Univ. of California Lib., San Diego
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.