The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon by Suzanne Goldring
Genre: Historical fiction, WW2
Read: 22nd February 2022
Audio:
Published: 25th February 2022
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Florence, 1943. A missing painting. A war-scarred city. A brave young girl on a black bicycle risking her life for the country she loved…
As the bells toll and arrogant soldiers torment her family, fourteen-year-old Gabriella is determined to act. She seeks out her old friend Stefanina, an unlikely member of the Italian resistance with her dark curls and scarlet ribbon. Soon the two girls are criss-crossing the river with deadly information in their bicycle baskets. But then one terrible day Stefanina disappears…
London 2019.Sofia is mourning the loss of her father, a famous painter. Desperate to feel closer to him, she begins to go through his paintings of wartime Florence, a time in his life he would never talk about. But then she realises one is missing…
Determined to learn more, she discovers that he had a sister she never knew about. She flies to Florence, the place of his tortured memories, to meet her aunt Gabriella, an elegant old woman living in a palazzo filled with roses. Therein a little bedroom, locked away from the world, she finds the missing painting, a tiny picture of a beautiful girl with a scarlet ribbon.
As Sofia uncovers the story behind the hidden painting, a tale of extraordinary bravery and terrible betrayal emerges. But will understanding her family’s haunted past bring her peace, or further heartbreak?
A completely compelling and heartbreaking story of a beautiful city, a violent war and a young woman’s daring. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and My Name is Eva will be captivated by The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon.
MY REVIEW:
I have been a fan of Suzanne Goldring since her smashing debut "My Name is Eva", which is still my favourite of hers by far. I'm always excited when she has a new book coming out as her ability to absorb the reader into her stories is unparalleled. However, I was disappointed with this latest offering as I just couldn't seem to engage with the unfolding plot...but that could just be me as I've never had any success engaging with Italian resistance WW2 tales. I don't know whether it is the language, although one would think the same with the German language, but I just couldn't connect. This is through no fault of Ms Goldring whose storytelling is always exceptional. I think in this case it is just personal taste.
THE GIRL WITH THE SCARLET RIBBON is a dual timeline tale set in Florence during German occupation in 1943 and London and Cornwall in 2019. The two timelines are are intricately connected through artist Riccardo who was a 12 year old boy recovering from polio during the war and the daughter Sofia and wife Isobel he leaves behind in 2019 after his death at the age of 87.
The 1943 timeline is mostly following Riccardo's older sister Gabriella, who finds adapting to her new school somewhat difficult and the subject of a couple of bullying sisters who think themselves above the others as their father, a Major, is high up with the Germans. Gabriella hates school and when she isn't there she must help her mother at home with cleaning their sprawling palazzo, cooking and laundering as well as learning to darn and mend clothes. Meanwhile Riccardo is schooled at home by their mother and at other times sits outside and draws. The siblings moved from their native Rome to Florence to find solace and protection during the war but just when they thought the Allies were coming, they instead had to find a new way of living under German occupation. Food became scarce as what little they grew the Germans claimed for themselves.
And then one day Gabriella is reluctantly befriended by the bullying sisters, who are far from nice but they have food, of which Gabriella's family are in short supply. Then Gabriella develops a crush on someone connected to the sisters which thus leads to difficulties for everyone, particularly Riccardo who is trying to make sense of all that is going on around him. It is through his art that he finds release and a solace which brings him some comfort during such harsh times.
And then tragedy strikes, affecting both Riccardo and Gabriella, who has made a horrible mistake with disastrous consequences...costing their family everything. And for which she carries the guilt for the rest of her life.
In 2019, Sofia is organising an exhibition of her late father's artwork whilst trying to make some sense of it. For Riccardo didn't give any of his paintings a title - just a number - and the things which he depicted in his work leave Sofia somewhat puzzled as to their meaning and the inspiration behind them. Her father never talked about his past so Sofia has no idea what any of his paintings mean. And whilst setting up the exhibition is shocked to discover one is missing. Number sixteen. They may not have titles, but Sofia can tell identify each painting just by their numerical reference. Numbers fifteen, seventeen and even twenty five are all there in her mind but at a number sixteen she draws only a blank. Did her father destroy the painting? Or was it locked away somewhere holding a secret that didn't bear revelation? Sofia travels to Cornwall where her mother now lives to convince her to return to London with her and hopefully help shed some light on Riccardo's inspiration and maybe even the mysterious missing number sixteen.
What Sofia and Isobel aren't expecting is that Riccardo left them a surprise - tickets and detailed instructions in a letter to return to his old home in Florence to see his aging sister Gabriella. Jumping at the chance to solve the mysteries behind her father's past, Sofia encourages her mother to make the trip with her believing that this journey holds the answers for which she seeks. But what unfolds is the heartbreaking truth, tragic revelations and a path to find closure and healing. Together they uncover the mystery behind the man they knew as their father and husband, Riccardo, and the complexities of his tortured mind, as well as the mysterious stories behind his many paintings. But can they find the elusive number sixteen?
THE GIRL WITH THE SCARLET RIBBON is a moving tale that is both emotional and heartbreaking about a difficult time buried deep in a dark history. The suffering and the painful picture painted can only serve to remind us of a time long forgotten to many. Suzanne Goldring's remarkable storytelling is reflected in the vivid descriptions highlighting a kindness through suffering.
Overall, an okay read although others may feel better connected to the story than I did, THE GIRL WITH THE SCARLET RIBBON whilst not my favourite of this author's tales but a compelling one all the same.
I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlWithTheScarletRibbon in exchange for an honest review.
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