A review by jomarchkinnie
The Sound of the Hours, by Karen Campbell
4.0
3.5/5 stars
The Sound of the Hours set in fascist Italy in the early to mid 1940s, follows Vita, a young Italian woman conflicted between doing what's right and doing what's easy (cliche, I know). The other main character is Frank, an African American serving in the segregated U.S. Army. Shockingly, the two meet and fall in love.
Campbell's flowery writing style made The Sound of the Hours difficult to read at first, but I gradually got used to it and began to enjoy it. It's very descriptive, sometimes almost too much. Especially towards the end, during the climax, the writing and actions felt so repetitive and insignificant that I basically skimmed it.
The romance felt stereotypical and was basically the same as every other story with a forbidden love. God, I just wanted a happy ending. Is that too much to ask? Despite this, I can understand why the plot went that way.
The romance doesn't even begin until probably about 100 pages in or so, when Frank saves Vita from being sexually harassed by American soldiers. Up until then, there is rampant (and poorly written) racism and sexism. There wasn't really a solution to either, with both still remaining prominent by the end of the book in several characters (yum, lack of character development).
The prologue and epilogue just felt- pointless. We know the story about Vita and Frank, and seeing everyone else 70 years later was depressing and boring. I didn't see a purpose to either the very beginning or the very end.
The descriptive writing style and gorgeous setting made up for this drab of a book. (Ever since reading Call Me By Your Name I've been obsessed with books in Italy? It's becoming a problem I want to read other books set in different countries lmao.) I still grew attached to the characters, despite my complaints. Probably not worth your time, but it was nice to read.
The Sound of the Hours set in fascist Italy in the early to mid 1940s, follows Vita, a young Italian woman conflicted between doing what's right and doing what's easy (cliche, I know). The other main character is Frank, an African American serving in the segregated U.S. Army. Shockingly, the two meet and fall in love.
Spoiler
Ending, of course, with Frank dying and Vita soon after.Campbell's flowery writing style made The Sound of the Hours difficult to read at first, but I gradually got used to it and began to enjoy it. It's very descriptive, sometimes almost too much. Especially towards the end, during the climax, the writing and actions felt so repetitive and insignificant that I basically skimmed it.
The romance felt stereotypical and was basically the same as every other story with a forbidden love.
Spoiler
They meet, fall in love (very quickly), have loads of sex, then he dies and she's pregnant, then she dies during or after childbirth. Very sad and tragic, and definitely not overdone.The romance doesn't even begin until probably about 100 pages in or so, when Frank saves Vita from being sexually harassed by American soldiers. Up until then, there is rampant (and poorly written) racism and sexism. There wasn't really a solution to either, with both still remaining prominent by the end of the book in several characters (yum, lack of character development).
The prologue and epilogue just felt- pointless. We know the story about Vita and Frank, and seeing everyone else 70 years later was depressing and boring. I didn't see a purpose to either the very beginning or the very end.
The descriptive writing style and gorgeous setting made up for this drab of a book. (Ever since reading Call Me By Your Name I've been obsessed with books in Italy? It's becoming a problem I want to read other books set in different countries lmao.) I still grew attached to the characters, despite my complaints. Probably not worth your time, but it was nice to read.