Rich girl, poor boy, is a common plot device in novels, TV shows, and films. Can two people, from two different worlds, surmount the obstacles that block their relationship?
Olivia Morganti lives on her family’s opulent Bolognese villa owned by her grandfather, Gianni, a prominent industrialist. Valerio, the son of the state’s gardener, Guido, also lives on the estate, and because of their similar ages, the two children play alongside each other, forming a long lasting friendship. At five years-old, the two share their first kiss, a moment that seals Valerio’s fate. For decades, he will carry a torch for Olivia, a flame that alternately is doused and then rekindled.
A long translator’s note by Anthony Shugaar, precedes Caterina Bonvicini’s ambitious novel which takes the two young people from their childhood through adulthood. Shugaar lays out, in vivid detail, the political turmoil that shaped Italy, from the Year of the Lead, a period of left and right wing violence that lasted from 1975 to the late 1980s, to the three cabinets of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, from 1994 to 2011. This well-written section certainly creates the perfect backdrop for this novel, but as the story unfolds, the love affair between Olivia and Valerio is doomed, not because of what’s happening nationwide, but by personal tragedies among the two families.
While the men – Olivia’s grandfather Gianni and Valerio’s father, Guido – are responsible for the financial situation of their families, it’s the women who make the decisions that ultimately affect Olivia and Valerio. “”For me, the world really was about to collapse,” Valerio says, “and the Years of the Lead had nothing to do with it.” Valerio’s mother, Sonia, continually disparages Guido for not being ambitious enough. She falls in love with Max, a loan shark, who promises her a better life. Valerio is forced to move away from the villa, away from Olivia, to a seedy part of Rome, where learning to speak the local dialect is the least of his challenges. One of the local toughs, Danilo, dubbed Er Faccia (fat face), protects Valerio, schooling him in the rules of the street. Unlike in Bologna, where the police are friendly, in Rome, the police patrol the apartment building where Max lives, with most of the families living illegally as squatters.
The two women affecting Olivia’s life are her grandmother, Manon, a true beauty, who tolerates her husband’s affairs to maintain her lifestyle. Her relationship with Olivia is precious to her, but she pushes her granddaughter to marry, not for love, but for wealth. Olivia’s mother, Elena, becomes an alcoholic, not able to handle her husband’s many affairs. Let’s just say that the model for a healthy marriage is not set for Olivia by either woman.
Unfortunately, Olivia and Valerio do not age well in this novel. While their younger selves are appealing, their affair as star-crossed lovers not of their own making, as they grow up, they are responsible for their decisions which, not only keep them apart, but hurt others. Olivia goes through loveless marriages, while Valerio eschews a career as a magistrate to become a builder, digging himself into an illegal hole that he will find it impossible to crawl out of.
Bonvicini is a beautiful writer whose characters are well drawn and the atmosphere described down to the last detail. Humans make mistakes, particularly where love is concerned. But it’s hard not to be frustrated by the actions of Olivia and Valerio whose love story might have had a much happier ending.
The Year of Our Love
Caterina Bonvicini
Translated by Anthony Shugaar
