In this thoughtful account of the 1974 Portuguese revolution betrayal, revenge, redemption and forgiveness are examined through brothers who take different sides in the fight for freedom. With a dual timeline, in Lisbon, student Elena meets and falls in love with charismatic activist, (and one of the brothers) Alvaro, with his grey eyes and belief in bringing down the dictatorship that is oppressing Portugal. At huge personal risk, the pair are joined by courageous friends who want the freedom to live and learn without fear of brutality or arrest. Two stories collide as Elena’s daughter Helen arrives in Portugal for the reading of her newly discovered Uncle’s Will and begins to understand her now dead mother’s connection to the revolution.

But how can Elena’s daughter make sense of who she and her family really are if her mother has led such a secret life? And who can she trust? Although I found myself questioning some of the gaps between characters’ actions and motives and the likelihood of their decisions there was enough of a sense of resolution to suspend my doubts and let me buy-in to a happy ending. 31/2*

I really, really wanted to enjoy this novel. And, for the first two-thirds, I genuinely did.

Anyone familiar with my tastes and reviews knows that I love novels that explore multiple perspectives and narratives. In addition, I'm familiar with Lisbon and the history of the dictatorship. All in all, 'Carnations in Lisbon' should have been a perfect fit for me and in some ways it was: I loved how the two stories in the 1970s and the modern world unfolded alongside each other; I enjoyed the motley crew of characters, even the "villains"; the conceit was convincing and interesting.

But, as the book went on, there were jarring moments where things were mentioned casually as if we already knew them when, in fact, this was an important detail to move the plot along. In the last part, a third narrative was picked up that didn't add much to the overall story and there were some ideas included that, in my option, would really have been better left to be more fully explored in a different novel; perhaps that's the idea and I was sufficiently convinced by Wilson's writing that I would gladly give a follow-up focussing on some of the lesser characters a go.

By the end, I found that there were too many ideas in the book for it to be as coherent as I would have liked.

A beautiful story! Carnations in Lisbon takes the reader on a fascinating journey that is heart warming, heart breaking and full of passion, suspense and raw emotion. I couldn't put this book down. This is a clever and insightful novel that captures the emotions of the characters and subtly weaves their stories into the confronting backdrop of Portugal's turbulent times. This is a triumph and highly recommended!

I enjoyed this book, Helen is invited to Portugal to receive a surprise inheritance Duarte, and finds out a lot of new information about her parents, their families, and their past. Her inheritance is shared by Marco, and challenged by Duarte's brother Joaquim, who does not feel he received his fair share.
The book is moves between the past and present; the past telling the story of life during the dictatorship in Portugal leading to the Carnation revolution of 1974. I found this very moving, and the history is interesting
In the present is Helen and Marco's legal battle, and growing attraction to one another, and Joaquim's increasingly desparate actions with his criminal friend and dodgy lawyer, which turns into an entertaining farce.
Recommended.