6/30/12

The Enchanted April by

★★★½
Genre: Fiction
Subject: Italian holiday, shared quarters
Setting: San Salvatore, Italy
Main Characters: Mrs. Lotty Wilkins,Mrs. Rose Arbuthnot,Lady Caroline,Mrs. Fisher,Mellersh Wilkins, Mr. Briggs
Series: no
Dates Read: June 24 - June 27
Number of pages: 361
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: yes , audio stockpile
Category for 12 in 12 challenge: Extra curricular activites


"To Those Who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine" - how enticing can an advertisement be than to lore you in with the thought of flowers and sunshine? So four unrelated ladies decide to rent an Italian castle for 4 weeks to escape from their everyday lives.

Four ladies so uniquely different - Lottie is a demoraliized house wife who decides that this is what she wants to do with her nest egg. Having met Rose Arbuthnot, who is of like mind, they advertise for two additiinal ladies to share the cost of the rental and head off to Italy for the month of April. Each lady has her own reason for avoiding their normal home environment, and friendships are formed as well as lives repaired amid the flourishing gardens and idyllic setting.

The writing brings a sense of peace to the reader as we picture the buzzing bees, blazing flora, and the puffing floating clouds on the hill overlooking the Mediterranean. There are also moments of amusement as well as self-analysis.

A great beach read IMHO.

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