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A review by bookedinthebayou
Lost in the Spanish Quarter by Heddi Goodrich
5.0
I received this book from HarperVia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lost in the Spanish Quarter is not your typical love story. It’s a story of the enduring, lasting pain that comes from loving someone, or some place, deeply and unconditionally.
Goodrich writes with passion and a deep understanding of language that transcends story telling. (The fact that she wrote this book first in Italian then translated it into English hung with me the entire time I read this book.) She transports you into the story—the story she very much lived herself— without making you feel like you’re losing yourself. In fact, it is so easy to see yourself in Heddi that I often found myself laughing at her internal dialogue thinking, “I have been there, done that!” Her characters are raw, with no pretenses and no ulterior motive to gloss over the hardships of life, love and family.
Heddi’s story begins with her unwavering love of Naples, second only to language. Immediately, you’re transported to the contentious city that baffles tourists and natives alike. You feel the frustration, the smog, the heat. All of this is no bother to Heddi, as her infatuation blinds her— sometimes to a fault. It seems that Naples and words would be her only love, until Pietro offers a gift to her in the hopes of forming a connection.
The gift turns into a lifetime of love, lust and longing between the two. The two battle familial acceptance, tradition diverging with modernity, slumlords, dissertations, money, health and distance. Their relationship is believable and relevant, and anyone who has loved will see themselves in these characters.
Goodrich exquisitely weaves Heddi’s story in Naples with exchanged “present day” letters between Heddi and Pietro, detailing their lives and dedication to one another. The letters are open, heart wrenching and make you question your devotion to Heddi and Pietro’s relationship, or if either of them was truly the “good guy” in the relationship.
Goodrich’s novel is one that completely swept me away. It is full of beautiful prose, history, linguistics and romance without being heavy. I truly cannot overstate how beautiful this book is. If you love exquisitely written stories that refuse to provide a conventional ending, then this book is for you.
Lost in the Spanish Quarter is not your typical love story. It’s a story of the enduring, lasting pain that comes from loving someone, or some place, deeply and unconditionally.
Goodrich writes with passion and a deep understanding of language that transcends story telling. (The fact that she wrote this book first in Italian then translated it into English hung with me the entire time I read this book.) She transports you into the story—the story she very much lived herself— without making you feel like you’re losing yourself. In fact, it is so easy to see yourself in Heddi that I often found myself laughing at her internal dialogue thinking, “I have been there, done that!” Her characters are raw, with no pretenses and no ulterior motive to gloss over the hardships of life, love and family.
Heddi’s story begins with her unwavering love of Naples, second only to language. Immediately, you’re transported to the contentious city that baffles tourists and natives alike. You feel the frustration, the smog, the heat. All of this is no bother to Heddi, as her infatuation blinds her— sometimes to a fault. It seems that Naples and words would be her only love, until Pietro offers a gift to her in the hopes of forming a connection.
The gift turns into a lifetime of love, lust and longing between the two. The two battle familial acceptance, tradition diverging with modernity, slumlords, dissertations, money, health and distance. Their relationship is believable and relevant, and anyone who has loved will see themselves in these characters.
Goodrich exquisitely weaves Heddi’s story in Naples with exchanged “present day” letters between Heddi and Pietro, detailing their lives and dedication to one another. The letters are open, heart wrenching and make you question your devotion to Heddi and Pietro’s relationship, or if either of them was truly the “good guy” in the relationship.
Goodrich’s novel is one that completely swept me away. It is full of beautiful prose, history, linguistics and romance without being heavy. I truly cannot overstate how beautiful this book is. If you love exquisitely written stories that refuse to provide a conventional ending, then this book is for you.