This book is an incredible journey through the eyes of three generations; you travel through Rome and the Southern Italian counrtyside to hear the tales of one family set against the back drop of Italy in WW2, the terrorism of the seventies through to the present day.
As the house is dismantled, so the lives of those who have lived in the house unfold. We are left contemplating the question of truth and how much the next generation is affected by the previous one, and how far we can reinterpret the past. This is mirrored by the political situation of Italy. Other levels are apparent however: one of the main characters is a screen writer and his successful films ultimately succeed or fail based on the love story and the power of one or two memorable scenes. In the same way, this book succeeds on the strength of its powerful love stories and its extrodinary scenes: for example, the image of the sweaty train journey when Oliveiro first meets Alba.