RETURN TO VALETTO by Dominic Smith

Hugh Fisher, a bereaved historian, returns to the Italian village of Valetto where his mother, Hazel Serafino, grew up, but the town now boasts only ten inhabitants.  Four of those are his three aunts and his grandmother, whose one hundredth birthday is approaching.  The family property includes a small cottage, which Hugh inherited from his mother but has now been claimed by Elisa, a chef from Milan. Elisa’s family apparently sheltered Hugh’s grandfather, who deserted his wife and four daughters to join the Resistance during WWII.  Elisa’s arrival on the scene solves at least one mystery—that of the whereabouts of Hugh’s grandfather after he disappeared.  Another mystery crops up when Hugh discovers that Elisa is the daughter of a woman who lived for a time as a refugee with the Serafino family.  Elisa’s mother and Hugh’s mother became great friends as children, but Hugh was never aware that refugee children lived with the Serafinos and has trouble coming to terms with why his mother never mentioned this fact.  Hugh soon finds that there is a lot more about his mother that he does not know, including an event whose details have been suppressed for decades and that only Elisa’s mother can shed light on.  All of the mysteries make for a good solid foundation, but the middle of the book drags, and the pace is almost as lethargic as the town of Valetto.  Ultimately, this is a family story about abandonment and regret, but it is not depressing.  I laughed at what Hugh’s grandmother says on page 37:  “I don’t recommend living a day over eighty-five.  Everything after that is like reading a novel you never liked for the second time.”  Oh my goodness, I hope not, but first, I have to get to eighty-five.