Paolo Cognetti's "The Lovers" sweeps readers into a reflective narrative set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Italian Alps. The novel follows Sara and Roberto, who find themselves drawn to each other amidst the rugged beauty of their surroundings. The descriptions of the landscape alone made this novel worth reading. Cognetti masterfully brings the natural world to life, using the Alps as a metaphor for the characters' emotional journeys. The mirror between the characters' inner landscape and the external environment added an important layer of depth to the story.

Overall, Cognetti's prose is lyrical and effectively captures the complexities of love and self-discovery. While the pacing occasionally slows due to these inner reflections, the impact is well worth it. The richness of the characters emotional landscapes left me pondering my own relationships and experiences and gave me a newfound appreciation for introspective fiction.

This is a unique setting for a novel and one that comes across as uniquely beautiful throughout the changing seasons of the story. The characters are sparse when compared to the majesty of the mountains, but such descriptions suit the prose well. There are many phrases in this novel that will stick with you for days after reading, I look forward to a wider release to see what quotes because more and more popular.

The short chapter structure made for compelling slices of life and contributed to a quick reading pace that I think some readers will very much enjoy. It holds its own among the ranks of thoughtful introspective novels that hope to just interpret human nature, and I enjoyed my time on the mountain with it.

As a closing thought, I highly recommend reading and sitting with the note from the translator. It was a lovely addition to the piece and adds an extra layer to the story's writing. It was a much-appreciated endnote and even makes the novel worthy of a second read-over for the discerning eye.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡- 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡.

Fausto is a forty-year-old writer, in looking for a place to start over, he chooses the mountains he knew well and loved as a boy, Fontana Fredda. Renting a place after the end of a relationship, he enjoys freedom, even if the solitude isn’t always welcome. With the arrival of winter, he needs a job, and finds one when he dines at Babette’s Feast, run by Babette. Babette herself left the city and took over a restaurant that is anything but lively and busy. Luckily for the people in the remote mountain village, she takes in strays and helps solve problems but is it what she truly wants to do with her life? From the kitchen, he gets to watch the sweet, much younger waitress, Silvia. To his surprise, he is soon exploring Silvia’s body, more incredibly their passion begins at her invitation. They part in the spring, each with plans, her to work and Fausto has things to settle back in Milan. They certainly we meet up again.

Nature is beautifully explored, just as much as the relationships between the characters. In winter it freezes to the bone, in Spring it gushes with an unstoppable force, as creatures awaken from their hibernation and crossing paths with ferocious mating animals can be dangerous. As Fausto climbs up the snow lie and walks through the woods, it is a beautiful setting. Babette closes her restaurant while she leaves for an island, a vacation spot she doesn’t name. Time passes and she still hasn’t returned, her own heart is spent, having once fallen for a mountain man. Does she want to return? When Fausto discovers that Santorso, the snowcat driver, hunter and former forest ranger, has been taken away in a helicopter after an accident, he rushes to the hospital. The solitary man (and watcher of wolves) has a daughter, and his story grows. A lone wolf enters the novel, now that he has more freedom and no one is there to stop him. Nature and man, living side by side.

There are deaths on the mountains from simple mistakes, particularly for climbers. Threats are always looming in such glorious places. Silvia is ascending to higher elevations with Nepalese guide, finally on her great adventure, heading to The Quinta Sella Refuge to work on a glacier. She spends time thinking about Fausto and chewing on memories of her mother while in the company of the Buddhist. Fausto, in the meantime, works as a chef for loggers, filling up on stories of work accidents and intense risky labor. He treks to Silvia, sure to warm any heart. The characters stories and the choices they make are all entwined. While they may come and go, the mountains simply exist, standing long after the dramas are played out.

It was a good story and I always enjoy nature’s presence, which is truly a humbling experience for them all.

Publication Date: June 7, 2022

HarperVia

This is a lovely and atmospheric story.. a love story set in the Alps region of Italy.
The mountains and landscape of the area are as much a character as the the two couples in this story.
Exquisite!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperVia for this ARC!

this is a very interesting piece of work, some of it went over my head and to be honest there were several elements that didn't really add to the narrative (rather they even took away from it) but overall I really enjoyed just sinking into the beautiful writing!!!