Early One Morning (novel)

Early One Morning

Book Cover
Author Virginia Baily
Country United States
Language English
Genre Novel
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Publication date
2015
ISBN 9780316300391
OCLC 900012212

Early One Morning is a 2015 novel by Virginia Baily.

Synopsis

In 1944 in Rome, Italy, a woman named Charia Ravello rescues Daniele Levi, a Jewish child, before he is deported by the Nazis with his mother. In a flash-forward, Charia lives alone in Rome in the 1970s and reflects on her life.

Critical reception

Reviewing it for The Guardian, Samantha Harvey described the novel as "incredibly sure-footed, a big, generous and absorbing piece of storytelling, fearless, witty and full of flair."[1] She added that it was "a surprisingly humorous novel, in which the characters are tenderly mocked or mock themselves".[1] In The Scotsman, Allan Massie suggested some passages "might with advantage have been shortened", but he concluded that the novel was "engrossing".[2]

However, in another review for The Guardian, Lucy Scholes suggested the conclusion was "a little flat".[3] In The Independent, Julie McDowall agreed with Scholes, writing that the "ending is tied up far too fast to be satisfying"[4] Reviewing it for The National, Clare Dight also criticized the end, arguing "The reader’s most serious criticism will come on the last page, however, when the ink runs out before a final reckoning."[5] Meanwhile, in The Jewish Chronicle, Hephzibah Anderson regretted that Bailey did not write more about the Holocaust; she concluded, "Baily's decision to look away from the horrors that she nonetheless exploits is a cop-out."[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Harvey, Samantha (July 31, 2015). "Early One Morning by Virginia Baily review – fearless, witty and full of flair". The Guardian. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  2. Massie, Allan (August 1, 2015). "Book reviews: Early One Morning by Virginia Baily". The Scotsman. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  3. Scholes, Lucy (August 16, 2015). "Early One Morning by Virginia Baily review – wartime drama in Rome's Jewish ghetto". The Guardian. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  4. McDowall, Julie (July 18, 2015). "Early One Morning, by Virginia Baily - book review: A fresh approach to this well-worn period". The Independent. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  5. Dight, Clare (July 16, 2015). "Book review: Virginia Baily's novel Early One Morning is a dark tale". The National. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  6. Anderson, Hephzibah (July 23, 2015). "Review: Early One Morning". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved May 3, 2016.


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