What a pleasant surprise this story turned out to be. I was cautious at first, another split narrative story that was strikingly similar to Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. But after a gripping ending and 459 pages, I found I had thoroughly enjoyed myself. I give The Rome Affair by Karen Swan 4-stars.
This story starts with Cesca Hackett. A young woman who ran away from her past to take refuge in Rome. She stumbles into the life of Elena Damiani, the socialite, celebrity, and royal princess, who hires Cesca to write her biography. It is through her interviews with Elena, research for the book, and exploring the palace that will unearth Elena's family secrets, and force Cesca to face her own.
I have been reading a ton of stories lately that feature dual narratives. Many of Karen Swan's more recent books have also used this technique including, The Spanish Promise and The Christmas Lights. I often struggle with these types of books for a couple of reasons:
1. The flow of the story is disrupted by jumping between perspectives.
2. As a reader, I have a preferred narrative or timeline and feel like rushing through my least favourite.
3. One character's timeline/narrative significantly outshines the others.
In The Rome Affair, I did not find myself falling into any of these usual traps. I thought the two narratives of Cesca and Elena worked together in harmony. Swan used this strategy to bring context and depth to the greater storyline. I felt it positively served the novel rather than taking away from it.
I also need to take a minute to talk about this ending, because it was fantastic. I cannot say much without giving it away. I thought I had things figured out multiple times, but there was always another twist around the corner. I loved it.
There was a striking number of similarities between The Rome affair and Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Both are stories that feature an older, famous woman hiring a younger woman to write their life story. Both of the older women dictating their stories hold many secrets and have multiple husbands. There were a lot of parallels between how both books ended for their characters as well. Although the basic concept for both stories was the same, the setting and accounts of each woman's life varied considerably. I can't think of any other two books I have read, that are as alike as these.
If anyone else has read The Rome Affair and enjoyed it leave me a comment, especially if you have read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo as well! I would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time...
Yours Literarily,
Lauren.
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