The writing in this book is so good that I had to stop sometimes and take the time to enjoy it before I went on to the next page. It’s a big book so at that rate it took me a while to finish it!
The story takes in the years from the early 1930s to 1946. Maria Lagana and her mother have emigrated from Italy to Los Angeles after the Mussolini regime sentenced her father, a prominent Roman lawyer, to internment in San Lorenzo in Calabria. Maria works for Artie Feldman who, with his twin brother, Ned, has fled Germany. Artie and Ned are the founders and major shareholders of Mercury Pictures.
After Pearl Harbour and America’s entry into World War 2, American born or naturalised Japanese, Italian and German citizens are interned, leaving the movie industry bereft of actors, directors and writers, many of whom came from the Hollywood emigré community.
The stories of the lives of the principal characters in the book are told separately and in detail, from Europe to America; stories of persecution, prejudice, opportunism; cynicism; creativity and, against all odds, love is in there too. There is so much to absorb it is a book that needs to be read twice which is something I will try to do when I can put aside some quiet time, one of these days.
Anyone with an interest in the early days of Hollywood and in the lives of people who lived through World War 2 will want to read this brilliant book. Anthony Marra is a master of his craft,
Published by John Murray
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