Synopses & Reviews
An extraordinary story of friendship and love across class lines, this rich, evocative novel traces the history of modern Italy, from 1975 to 2013, through the fate of one couple.
Valerio and Olivia grow up together in the Morganti family’s opulent villa in Bologna, inseparable friends even though they come from vastly different worlds: Olivia, the Morgantis’ daughter, is the heir to a large industrial fortune, while Valerio is the son of their gardener and maid. Largely sheltered from the dangers rampant in the unstable Italy of the 1970s, the two share their first innocent kiss at five years old, which heralds the start of a decades-long relationship.
From Valerio having to move to a poor neighborhood in Rome and Olivia making her entrance in high society, life tries to separate them at every turn, but without success, so strong is the bond between them. Year after year they meet only for a few moments, which feel like they’re eternal, and their friendship turns into something more intense, and scary. They take different paths: Olivia travels the world looking for herself, while Valerio devotes himself to a prestigious career that doesn’t satisfy him, in a country that is quickly losing its identity in the political crises of the Berlusconi era. Still, they keep meeting again and again at crossroads in life.
Review
“Nothing better than this novel for understanding Italy in the last half century. Everything is subtle, nothing is predictable... There is humor, wit, delicacy, gravity... You have to read The Year of Our Love, a powerful and poignant tragicomedy.” Le Monde
Review
“The Year of Our Love is a triumphant love story about an indomitable girl and a tenderhearted boy destined to be together regardless of differences in class or circumstance. Get ready to fall in love with Olivia and Valerio as you experience their lives from childhood through adulthood in tumultuous modern Italy. Vividly crafted, wry and witty, this novel captivated me from the first page to the last.” Suzanne Redfearn, bestselling author of In an Instant
Review
“A deeply moving and memorable novel that captures love’s intensity and the losses that come with adulthood. In prose that is restrained but pulses with emotion, Bonvicini reminds us that the compromises we make in our youth can haunt us all our lives, and the people we love are often, in equal measure, the source of our distress and our only comfort.” L. Annette Binder, author of The Vanishing Sky
Review
“The Year of Our Love is a layered, riveting story of love and complicated friendship set against a tumultuous period in Italy’s history. Fresh and stylistic, with characters that will remain with you, this modern saga has a clear ring of authenticity. Caterina Bonvicini delivers a thoughtful, enthralling story full of twists and turns. A story not to be missed.” Jan Moran, USA Today bestselling author of The Chocolatier
About the Author
Caterina Bonvicini lives between Rome and Milan and holds a degree in Modern Literature from the University of Bologna. Her novel L’equilibrio degli squali (2008) was hugely acclaimed and won the Premio Rapallo, Premio Fregene, and Premio Frignano in Italy, and the Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro in France. It was followed by Il sorriso lento (2010), Correva l’anno del nostro amore (2014), Tutte le donne di (2016), and Fancy Red (2018). Her books have been translated in several countries.
Antony Shugaar is the author of a number of books and has translated hundreds of others, including Everything Is Broken Up and Dances by Edoardo Nesi and Guido Maria Brera, Notes on a Shipwreck by Davide Enia, and The Piranhas and Savage Kiss by Roberto Saviano. His translation of Gianni Rodari’s Telephone Tales received the American Library Association’s 2021 Batchelder Award. He is the editor-in-chief of Redcar Press, a new publishing house focusing on translated fiction and graphic novels.