THE ITALIAN MATCHMAKER / santa montefiore
THE ITALIAN MATCHMAKER / santa montefiore
Written by Olive Ann Walden   
Friday, 17 July 2009 22:14
the italian matchmaker santa montefiore I don’t believe in ghosts.
In many ways, I would like to.
But, I find it too hard to comprehend invisible spiritual beings walking around, stalking those that they love and influencing the decisions we make.

So when this simple romantic novel morphed into a ghost story, I immediately subtracted twenty points from the realistic-o-meter. On the other hand, the intrigue-scale increased exponentially. 

‘THE ITALIAN MATCHMAKER’ was written by Santa Montefiore who claims to have seen spirits “on and off”, throughout her life.
So I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised, at the eerie presence of spirits traversing her book.
But really?!...
A ghostly romance?...

Surely the chilling presence of ghosts would extinguish any romantic flame? Oddly enough, they did not. Like gently blowing on a glowing ember, the apparition of spirits rekindled the flames of love and set them ablaze.
The story follows Luca; a divorced husband and father, who escapes to Italy, eager to rethink his life. He stays with his parents at their magnificently restored palazzo. Here he encounters his parents’ eccentric friends, a widow with her young son, and... love. But all, is not what it seems. Luca uncovers secrets that have been buried for years, steadily digging deeper, and gradually getting closer to discovering what he really wants out of life.

My first impression of this book was that it was one big cliché. In many ways, it is. However, redemption is in the quality of its characters. In particular, Luca's parents, their unconventional friends, and Rosa; the belle of the town, who has sass, yet frustratingly causes much drama. And then, of course, there are the ghosts... Without the aura of spirits, this book would be ordinary; a simple love story, a little bit of drama, nothing more. The ghosts bring with them unpredictability and fear – likely induced by my apprehension of the supernatural. They make a flat story, full-bodied... however far-fetched they may be.

The ‘The Italian Matchmaker’ is set in Incantellaria; a picturesque small town on the Amalfi coast of Italy. I spent much of the book thinking: WOW! “I want to go to there.” (all you '30 Rock' fans will know where I am coming from). Apparently, once you visit Incantellaria you’ll never leave; life is just too good there. Again, far-fetched, but oh how you want to believe a place like that really exists.

All in all, this book was an enjoyable read. A little bit mystery, a little bit romance, a little bit supernatural: not a bad combination. It is not intelligent literature, but it is easy to read, hard to put down... and keeps you interested.
 

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