If your mother is the love of your life, what does that make your husband?
I think that quote pretty much sums up everything that didn't work for me with this book.
When Katy's mother Carol dies after a battle with cancer, Katy is lost. She and her mother were extremely close, their relationship being one for the ages. They'd been planning a trip to Italy together, so Katy decides to go by herself. She leaves her life and her husband behind and jets off to Italy for the closure and clarity she desperately needs.
I'll be honest, I had a really hard time connecting with Katy. She just goes on and on about her mother being the one great love of her life. And for some reason, she thinks she's her mother's great love too, and that her father must only be Carol's distant second love. My eyes rolled so hard. You would think Katy was five years old, but she's thirty and married! It makes no sense. It's as if her only identify as a person is being Carol's daughter.
And the way Katy treats her husband was really hard to stomach. He's there for her through thick and thin, supporting her emotionally and physically during her mother's decline. Yet Katy just whines about how she can't possibly love him anymore because he's not her great love (which is her mother). And when she gets to Italy, she immediately latches onto some random dude and proceeds to have an affair.
Then as Katy learns more about her mother and the fact that she had a life outside of being a parent to her, she is shocked. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. What adult feels this insane level of attachment to their parents? It's too bad, because the story would've been a lot better had Katy's love for her mother been generous instead of self-centered. There is so much hypocrisy and selfishness in Katy's behavior and her treatment of everyone around her, it really detracts from the story's emotional impact.
However, one thing the book does do right is its ability to transport me so completely to another place. It's as if I'm really in Positano, at the elegant Hotel Poseidon, soaking up the Italian sun and eating all the wonderful food there is to offer. Everything is so vividly portrayed, it fully engaged all my senses. I was swept away to this beautiful location.
Readaroo Rating: 2.5 stars
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