“Because always pain had been close at hand in that other happiness, ready to torture with doubts, to torture even with the very excess of her love; “Because always pain had been close at hand in that other happiness, ready to torture with doubts, to torture even with the very excess of her love; while this was the simple happiness of complete harmony with her surroundings, the happiness that asks for nothing, that just accepts, just breathes, just is.”
The perfect book to read during the month of April, The Enchanted April is an enchanting little book that focuses on the transformation of four strangers who decide, on a whim, to rent San Salvatore, a castle in full bloom on the Italian Riveria. This is the perfect spring story brimming with pure happiness and transformation as we watch these women find themselves and bloom again (or for the first time) after spending so many years preoccupied with other matters. In direct contrast to dreary England, Italy, with it’s beautiful wisteria and new flowers blooming every week, is a place for a subtle transformation that takes place when one is at peace with oneself and one’s surroundings. My edition had an excellent introduction by Salley Vickers and I find that this quote from her introduction; “Joy, mirth, sympathy and kindness are magical in their effects, and it does no harm in our cynical and materialistic age to be reminded that we have it in us to enjoy these states of mind and exercise these powers.” sums up the sentiment of this book perfectly. It is so lovely to see a book that is just happy and I had a lot of fun and peace whilst reading it.
“May scorched and withered; March was restless, and could be hard and cold in its brightness; but April came along softly like a blessing, and if it were a fine April it was so beautiful that it was impossible not to feel different, not to feel stirred and touched.”
This is primarily a story of the transformation of our four strangers as they stay in San Salvatore. We follow the timid Mrs Wilkins, the overworked Mrs Arbuthnot, the judgmental Mrs Fisher, and the stuck-up Lady Caroline as the atmosphere of San Salvatore transforms them at different rates and in different ways. There is such joy and beauty in reading this book that really does just exemplify how important rest and relaxation is. I don’t want to say much about any of the women because their transformation really is the meat of this story, but there is a common theme of just letting go. The act of freeing oneself from the constraints places upon them is an act that creates immeasurable joy and peace. The women perfectly balanced each other and their transformations were staggered in a way that kept me interested in the story. I found myself smiling often at this book, a lot of the time when watching the women become the happiest versions of themselves.
“Strange how easily even the greatest men were moved by exteriors.”
While I did find some comic relief in the addition of the men, they were ultimately disappointing (but maybe that was the point?). I’m just going to say it: Mrs Arbuthnot deserved better. As did Lady Caroline. Before the men were introduced, I found there to be some poignant explorations of Mrs Arbuthnot coming to terms with not having to dedicate her whole life to servitude and finally opening the doors to love her husband and I was so excited to see that reunion take place. Additionally, I found Lady Catherine being able to be in a place where she wasn’t constantly harassed by men because they felt that they were entitled to her beauty. I was pretty happy with where both of these were going and how being able to fully be themselves without expectation—internal or external—that had been put on them for so long. While the men were used to show how the ways in which the women had changed and how they now responded to things differently, the insertion of them broke this ideal of paradise for me as none of them really changed into better/happier people. While the women were forgiving, happy, and loving the men still only loved the women when they could give them something or do something for them. Their love felt so transactional and shallow compared to this friendship that we were only just beginning to explore. I felt myself losing interest in the book as the men invaded and the serene spell of San Salvator quickly crumbled before me. Maybe that’s the point, but it still made me a bit sad to say goodbye so soon.
“They had lived for a while in the very heart of poetry.”
While this book didn’t stick the landing for me, I was enamored with the vast majority of it. Von Armin created the most exquisite atmosphere that exuded beauty and serenity. Reading this felt as though I was wading through a dream land and I was always disappointed when I had to put it down. My new goal in life is to find a beautiful Italian villa (or castle, fingers crossed) by the sea and rent it out with a bunch of people I don’t know that well (any takers?) because I am now convinced that that will completely transform my life (no husbands randomly showing up near the end of the vacation allowed, I don’t want a repeat of the end of this book, serious inquiries only). Thank you, emma for joining me on this magical journey. I hope this made you want to go to Italy and relive a version of this book as much as it made me....more
“We had become temporary residents of Greater Israel, living on Israel’s sufferance, subject to the most abusive treatment at the hands of its young “We had become temporary residents of Greater Israel, living on Israel’s sufferance, subject to the most abusive treatment at the hands of its young male and female soldiers, controlling the checkpoints, who decided on a whim whether to keep us waiting or to allow us passage. But worse than than all of this was that nagging feeling that our days in Palestine were numbered and one day we were going to be victims of another mass explosion.”
read if: you are interested in stories where nature is at the forefront and if you want to hear about a Palestinian’s firsthand experience in the West Bank between 1978 and 2006.
This book, spanning decades, is beautiful heartbreaking. Told through walks our narrator goes on through the years, we watch as the land of Palestine gets smaller, the natural world gets more developed, and even a simple walk could be a death sentence for a Palestinian living in Ramallah. Seeing how something as mundane as the direction of walks and ability for Raja to traverse through Palestine is heartbreaking as he is able to go less and less far from Ramallah each walk because of soldiers and checkpoints. ...more
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