I was all prepared to love this book. I had loved Under the Scarlet Sky and was interested in learning more about Italy during Mussolini’s reign. But I just could never get into it. It follows Maria through her marriage at age 25 in 1923 through the early 1950s in the Italian countryside. It was a different time. Women were meant to be subservient. “Men will do what men do… Don’t ask him any more of your pointless questions, Maria. Not knowing is a kind of happiness.”

Even when something meaningful happens, it’s told in such an understated way I had trouble relating. And the characters never became real to me. The writing never spoke to me and it just felt very dry and ponderous, especially when the Madonna would speak to Maria. In addition, I wanted to know more about what was happening during the different time periods, especially as it pertained to WWII and this book didn’t give you the bigger picture.

I am definitely in the minority in my opinion of this book, so don’t let my opinion sway you if you’re considering it.

My thanks to netgalley and Spiegal and Grau for an advance copy of this novel.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: June 12, 2018

Whenever I give a book a five-star review that means that it is, for me, an incredible read. But, I admit that I have noticed that when a book is on a subject I enjoy or something that I can relate to then I usually add in an extra star. After all, this reviewer is only human. In this book, I strongly identify with the characters’ culture. Still, this does not take away from the episodic writing. You will feel as though you are inside the pages and everything is happening and touching you. The novel is filled with the feel of Italy, its food, its way of life and its picturesque wonders. As well as the underbelly of peasant living; the author, Elise Valmorbida, raises the moral and ethical questions on the uneven balance of power between the sexes in Italian life

The weight of the novel is in the history of Italy during the 1920s to the 1950s. I appreciate that the main female protagonist is not portrayed in a romantic sense. She is the portrait of an unsentimental woman doing whatever it takes to keep her family alive during unstable times. She and her husband have lived through and survived WWI. Now they must do it again, with four children, during WWII. At the beginning of the war, Benito Mussolini (National Fascist Party) chose to ally Italy's forces with those of Adolf Hitler. Soon German and Italian armies were battling Allied troops on several fronts. The Italian people homes were being bombed and they were starving, and suffering on many levels. Then one month after Italy surrendered to Allied forces, it declared war on Nazi Germany. And the Italian people were, being bombed, starving and suffering: “War is hell.” ― General William T. Sherman.

Women seemed the most burnt out by life because they were the most abused. The enemy, whoever they might be at the moment, was beating and raping the females. And, their own husbands were no better, especially in peasant life where it is the norm for men to beat their wives and children, and have affairs. Think the movie “Zorba The Greek,” not an Italian film but so similar in the scene where the village peasants stone to death a woman who was unfaithful to her husband. If you think this casual acceptance of violence against women can be attributed to the period, think again. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, “women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year. Less than 20 percent of battered women sought medical treatment following an injury.” I actually found myself comparing our foreign female protagonist to Tina Turner and her husband Ike. Ike once told the newspapers in 1985. “Yeah, I hit her, but I didn't hit her more than the average guy beats his wife.”

In short, the wartime horrors and the abuse to women endured by the author’s characters are so real and so gut-wrenching, that I was not surprised to learn about the possibility that this is autobiographical-historical novel. I applaud Valmorbida for such an honest description of Italy’s wonders and shames.

The year is 1923, and Maria Vitorria’s father is away, he has gone to find a man for her. A husband. Nearing the dangerously advanced age of 25, it is past time Maria was wed. Soon there will be no prospects left, and she will have to rely on her family. Maria isn’t worried, she relies on the wisdom of Madonna of the Mountains, and she knows she will have a husband. She’s so sure that she’s been working, embroidering a sheet for their bed for the wedding night, and when she isn’t doing that, she is repeating prayers from The Christian Bride, while trying to visualize this man.

In their small village, so many have been lost in World War I that her father has had to travel to other areas, but Maria knows that her father will only accept a man for her into their family if he is worthy to be considered. Her father has his own reputation to consider, as well, and so he returns with a man, Achille, a returned veteran of the war. After a short period of time, Achille and Maria are married.

As this story unfolds, Italy is beginning to show the effects of divided allegiances, splinter groups, leading to more division among the people. Maria and Achille have settled in the plains of Fossò, with Maria’s Madonna of the Mountains statue settling in with them. The Madonna is her lifeline, her support and salvation, that which soothes her soul when days are hard, it is who she reaches for when seeking answers, it is the voice she hears when she is uneasy in her soul over things she has done.

Life is full of decisions and life-changing moments. For Maria, she has her Madonna for guidance, and she feels that is enough.

This is a family saga that establishes its home in the place and time, Italy during the time when the powers of fascism were growing, and the privations of war were slowly forcing people, families, to more drastic measures to survive, and it touches on the effects this has on this one family. As tensions around them rise, it is inevitable that it will affect them, but how?

Some of the things that I loved - the little touches, the imagery of the world around them, the descriptions of the sights and sounds, the significance of the number of times the church bells ring, how they ring in a melancholy way, I loved reading the words of the Madonna, as she varied from offering words of comfort to giving cautionary warnings, and often, also, to counsel. I loved how determined Maria was to protect her family, even when she struggled with everything they’d sacrificed to make it through their days.


Pub Date: 12 JUN 2018

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group – Random House / Spiegel & Grau

‘The Madonna of the Mountains’ by Elise Valmorbida follows the life of Maria Vittoria from 1923 in the Italian countryside to the 1950’s, when her family emigrates to Australia. The story moves from the little village where Maria grew up to the town where she and husband are shopkeepers. It follows her through the birth of her children, the rise of the National Fascist Party and the Second World War.

The Madonna of the Mountains was billed as “A sweeping saga about womanhood, religion, loyalty, war, family, motherhood, and marriage.” It, to me, is a rather sad and depressing story. More like a lesson you were dreading to learn. I so wanted to love this novel since my family came to America from Italy. It was difficult for me to read a saga where there is not one drop of joy. The writing is good and I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the landscapes. There are many interesting details about Italy as a whole under Mussolini and the Fascist Party.

I almost feel bad for not giving this book a better review. I know it probably took Elise Valmorbida a long time to write this novel and do all the research. However, it was very hard to become involved with Maria’s story. She is hard and unforgiving. This was hard for me to wrap my head around. Maria is not portrayed as a romantic figure which was okay not every main character has to be a romantic figure. Her life is harsh, she has to make difficult choices. Her motivations and emotions seem genuine She prays constantly but missed the part about forgiveness and love. She has no joy or hope and unfortunately her children grow up without either. She prays constantly to the Madonna of the Mountains. When Maria prays to the Madonna she receives paragraphs of advise. It came across, to me, that she was either hallucinating or certifiable. I felt the book was very unsatisfying. I read the entire book out of respect for the author but was left feeling very empty when it was over.

I would like to thank the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a coincidence that I would read this book right around the time my new neighbors moved in next door. They are Italians from Australia and they told me their grandparents immigrated there from Italy and the area they grew up in was full of Italians.

In Madonna of the Mountains, the story spans from the 1920’s to the 1950’s and portrays the life of a young woman, Maria Vittoria, who is from the mountains of Italy. The story paints a rich and vivid picture of Italian culture and the unstable economy and political climate during those years.

Readers follow Maria as she marries, moves away and runs a market with her husband, Achille. They start a family and do fairly well until World War II. They endure difficult times during the war years, but this is not a story about labor camps or exterminations.

This is the story a marriage, of how to endure and how to forgive. I really enjoyed reading this and the look into Italian life during that time was so authentic that I could easily picture it in my mind.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this novel! SPOILER ALERT. As the grandchild of Italian immigrants born in Maria’s generation I was afforded wonderful insight into the world from which they came. One set of grandparents, who were not “contadina” but actually lived in a villa surrounded by their orchards actually lived through World War I in Italy. Not long after they were forced to emigrate to the U.S. because my grandfather was actively anti-Fascist. On my other side, my great grandparents were poorer farmers and merchants who emigrated to the U.S. for a better life. Their story - and that of their children - was quite similar to the economic and cultural experiences described in Maria’s story. The roles of men and women, including their attitudes toward the Church, were spot on. Maria had her flaws like all of us, though her choices were always based on what was best for her family. After her husband was arrested she was left with little recourse unless she wanted her children to starve. There are principles and pride, and then there is reality. Her husband would have watched his family starve rather than “bow” to anyone or anything. Maria’s remorse would have been bottomless if she made such a choice. I was so proud of her when she took the risk to secretly visit Amelia and meet her grandchild. As she put distance between her old life and the new, she also found the courage to write to Amelia and to show Bruna that she could be affectionate and loving. Though the wars destroyed her innocence, she remained niave regarding her own right to self-respect and self-worth. Deprived of a formal education, she did not know about any culture but her own limited one. Because she has earned the wisdom of time, she will move forward in her New World with more confidence and understand the importance of independent choice and education for not only her sons, but for her daughter as well.

What a great novel about an Italian family trying to survive life. The story takes place in the 1920's until the 1950's, twenty five years of Maria's life. The main character is Maria Vittoria, a very strong, faith based, determined woman. The beginning of the story starts with Maria at 25 years old. At this age most are considered un-marriageable and destined to be a spinster. Maria's father is determined to marry Maria off. Men are scarce at this time, so her father takes his one donkey, food and a photograph of his daughter to a far away valley to find her a husband. Maria, being Catholic, prays to the Madonna, which she has a figurine of and she carries with her. She is so distressed she does not realize she is praying aloud “Please, dear God, make him good and handsome.” “Stupid girl, her mother says. “When the children are hungry, they won't cry Papa, belo, they'll cry Papa, pan!”

This book is about womanhood, family, motherhood and marriage. But it contains so much more. The strength that Maria needs to survive the challenges of war, poverty, and starvation.
The author will take you on an unforgettable journey.
I received a copy of this book from Random House through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This sweeping family saga takes place in Italy and tracks one family as it struggles to survive WWII. The family dynamics are complicated and many sacrificies have to be made to get through this time. The story is long and often exhausting, but it has tender moments as well as terrible ones.

The publisher’s blurb describes this as: An epic, inspiring novel about one woman’s survival in the hardscrabble Italian countryside and her determination to protect her family throughout the Second World War—by any means possible

I suppose that sums up the story neatly enough, although I object to the word “hardscrabble” (what does that even mean?!) (according to my online dictionary it means “involving hard work and struggle.” Which I suppose one could have guessed.) But I think it makes it sound a more engaging book than it is.

Maria, the main character, is a fiercly uncompromising person, and her faith – and thus also her God, and her Madonna – is just as unbending. Although I found the story interesting, the fact that I didn’t really warm to Maria made it a more difficult book to read. Another reviewer writes: I thought that one of the real strengths of this book is that the story is unvarnished. Maria is not portrayed as a romantic figure. Her life is harsh, she has to make difficult choices, and she herself can be quite hard and unbending. But her motivations and emotions seem genuine – survival and love for her children are her prime motivators.

I’m not saying it wasn’t interesting – although I’ve read many books set during WW2, this is the first that I’ve read set in Italy, and thus it was interesting to find out more about Fascism in this country, and how it played out during this period. It was also intriguing finding out about the country food eaten before and during the war, especially with a few recipes given at the end (including, slightly macabrely, instructions as to how the Fascists used salt and castor oil as torture).

I’m not saying it wasn’t well-written – there were some passages of lyrical writing, and the story did pull me along.

And yet…and yet…I just wasn’t engaged as much as I wanted to be. I wanted to really enjoy this book, but at times I felt I was reading it because I felt obliged to. I find it quite interesting that the member reviews on Net Galley are either of the “loved it” or “really didn’t enjoy it” variety. I am in the middle, but wavering more to the negative end. I’m giving it three stars, because it’s nowhere near as bad as my 2-star-review book, but I’m afraid I didn’t really enjoy it.

I want to say that I love this novel, but that doesn't cover it. I was taken away to Italy before, during, and after WWII. I was captured by the author's descriptions of the sights, sounds, food, fear, longing and Maria's struggle for survival and need to protect her family at any cost. An amazing read! Now I want to read Ms. Valmorbida's other books!

The Madonna of the Mountains follows the life of Maria Vittoria from 1923 in the Italian countryside, when her father has brought home the man she will marry to the 1950’s, when her family emigrates to Australia. The story moves from the little village where Maria grew up to the town where she and husband are shopkeepers. It follows her through the birth of her children, the rise of the National Fascist Party and the Second World War.

The Madonna of the Mountains has been described as “A sweeping saga about womanhood, religion, loyalty, war, family, motherhood, and marriage.” It is all that, to be sure, but it is surprisingly unsatisfying. Maria’s religion plays a large part in her life, and she talks to and receives guidance from the Madonna. But Maria’s God and the Madonna are harsh and unforgiving, and that is how Maria is. She is superstitious and suspicious and displays no joy or hope except perhaps in the time right before her marriage. Even realizing the time and the place and how young women were raised, it is still hard to identify with or become involved in Maria’s story.

It’s a melancholy story, more like a dry history lesson or a biography. The descriptions of the political times are very precise and detailed. The descriptions of the landscape are vivid and make you feel you are there. The book is full of interesting details with a well-written narrative, but there is no heart to the story. We don’t ever feel we know the characters. None of the them, including Maria, really engage you, or by the time they do it’s really too late for you to much care.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book and inviting me to write an honest review.

A woman finding her way in a man's world in WWII. It was very well written, but I couldn't find a spark in the characters for me to latch on to. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.

4+ stars .

There were so many things I loved about this family saga. I’m drawn to books that are set in Italy in the past. Maybe because of my grandparents who were all born in Italy. I love the intermittent Italian phrases. Though I studied it so long ago I never used it enough over the years to remember much of it, but still the beautiful language touches me. I loved the phrases that I found here, especially in the first parts of the book. I loved the advice, the adages as they reminded me of things my mother would tell us that my grandfather used to say . She always said , “My father used to say ....” I know I’m digressing, but I was moved by these.

This the story of Maria Vittoria who in 1923 was 25, old to be single in that time and waiting for her father to bring back a husband for her . She seems taken with her new husband and vows to be a good wife and mother. She’s happy until it becomes clear that Achille is not the man she thought she had married, but this was a different time and place and she takes what comes. The middle parts of the story are about a time of war, of a time and place when women’s roles were subservient. Yet, we meet a woman who is strong, emotionally and physically and has the gumption to do what it takes to protect her family with the impending war and the spread of fascism. So often in war stories we get the view from the battles, the bombings and I found this depiction of the impact of the war on the people away from that to feel realistic. Maria is not perfect, but there was much to admire about her as she takes control. Her family was everything to her. In that respect she reminded me so much of my mother.

I loved the intermittent admonitions, advice and sometimes a look to the future that the author depicts as words of the Madonna. I think these are Maria’s thoughts on what the Madonna would say to her. She is devout but bears the burden of guilt and these thoughts are her compass in moving forward. I’m not going to relate what happens to Maria and her family after the war. I recommend that you read this and discover it for yourself. A satisfying, well written family saga. Another great read with Diane and Esil. As always, thanks for your perspectives.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Spiegal & Grau/ Random House through NetGalley.

The Madonna of the Mountains takes place in Italy from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. The story focuses on Maria, who as a young woman is excited to start her new life with a husband chosen by her family. As the story develops, life is quite harsh for Maria, partially because of her marriage and in large part because of the political climate and WWII.

I really liked Madonna of the Mountains. I thought that one of the real strengths of this book is that the story is unvarnished. Maria is not portrayed as a romantic figure. Her life is harsh, she has to make difficult choices, and she herself can be quite hard and unbending. But her motivations and emotions seem genuine – survival and love for her children are her prime motivators.

The author also does a good job in her portrayal of the times in Italy – complex web of politics within which normal citizens had to carefully navigate their shifting allegiances to survive. As I often say, I don’t always like historical fiction because I often find that it is too romantic or exploitative, but this one definitely worked for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

All Maria wants is a family. When she finally marries she thinks everything will be ok. After the war breaks out a whole new set of problems comes about. Maria will do anything for her family.
The characters are very well done. You can imagine meeting them.
I would definitely recommend this book. I really enjoyed it.

Beautiful family saga! The characters were very well written and felt very real. The Italian family's history and its hardships were shown from 1923 to 1950. The Fascist Era in Italy was so engagingly described, the difficulties of survival in the time of war, especially the fight to conquer hunger were so remarkably well shown that it was hard to put the book down even for a moment.

I enjoyed following the main character Maria Vittoria and her loved ones. At the beginning of the novel Maria Vittoria is nearly 25 years old, hardly marriageable according to her neighbours’ standards and her father goes to a faraway valley to find her a husband. She is excited by the prospect of marriage and prays to a statue of the Madonna of the Mountains for a handsome, good man. It was easy to listen to her voice through the whole story. She proved to be a fascinating, complex character. At the first glance she is a simple, god-fearing, hardworking country girl. But she is also proud and ambitious. She can make difficult choices for her family survival and be strong when it counts. She comes from a patriarchal, small-minded society, that sees women as lesser than men. She loves her husband Achille, but there is a place in her for other dark passion. She would do anything for her children, but it won’t be easy for her when her daughter Amelia goes against her will and the will of the family.

The character I liked most was Amelia, Maria Vittoria’s daughter. She was intelligent and independent, able to take risks and find her own way. On the other hand, Duilio, a Maria Vittoria’s cousin was a dark presence in the book, it was surprising how much evil he could do. I didn’t like him or his actions at all, but he made the story more interesting.

What I loved the most about this book was the language. The novel is beautifully written and full of engaging, remarkable details like doing the spring laundry in the village, the art of making silk from silkworms’ cocoons, looking for food in unexpected placed when faced with hunger. Maybe it sounds banal, but it was written in such a way that I was hanging on every word. By the writing of Elise Valmorbida even doing the laundry, feeding silkworms with mulberry leaves and searching for lizards hidden under stones became fascinating topics.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone! I recommend it especially for readers interested in family sagas and Italian history.

I received "The Madonna of the Mountains" from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

Historical fiction at it’s best. I love books set in this time era. The author wove a tapestry of events in northern Italy during WW II., some of which were horrific. We follow Maria and her life from 1923-1950 as she strengthens and becomes a protector of her family. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

After starting this book realized I was just not able to get into the story and so went to another book.

I just finished "The Madonna of the Mountains" by Elise Valmorbida, which I was fortunate to read a prerelease copy from Net Gallery. The book is planned to be released June 12, 2018. Any fan of historical fiction. I strongly urge to read this! It starts in the early 1920's in very rural Italy at the end of WW 1 and follows through a young woman's life and immigration to Australia. I loved the characters and the extremely descriptive every day Life accountings! I thought since Madonna was in the title it would be more religious but was wrong. The family has a Madonna statue that the main character does have "conversations" with, but not overly religious. Try to remember the title this summer and check it out!

This was a beautifully written piece of historical fiction -- set in northern Italy, this is the story of a woman who does anything to keep her family safe and fed during occupied territory in WWII. Loved it!