Review of 'The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbon' by Suzanne Goldring
Suzanne Goldring – The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbon
Release date: February 25th, 2022
The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbon is a compelling, powerful and heart-breaking World War II novel that left me deeply troubled by the horrific events that occurred during this time; especially knowing that things may have been even worse than what the author envisioned. Even though Suzanne paints a stark picture of what it was like in Italy under the threat of Germany, this story is not without its beauty, like roses and their thorns. For it also shows a hidden community of support. How love and kindness even in the darkest moments can rise and give strength to the suffering.
Without doubt, The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbon is a touching story about the trials of one family and their friends and neighbours who suffered unspeakable torture at the hands of the Nazis. Only those who lived through such events could truly know the magnitude of evil that was unleashed. But Suzanne has done an incredible job of delivering the possibilities. I believe I have never read a novel where I struggled so much with the descriptions of death, cruelty and starvation as seen on these pages; including the holocaust in Italy with the persecution, deportation, and murder of Jews. Sometimes I felt so overwhelmed by the details, I wanted to look away. Suzanne’s well-rounded characters and clear depictions definitely pulled me into the settings and events and stirred up enormous compassion and grief in my heart. I felt great empathy for every wounded and challenged soul in this story. Their fears, anguish and struggles for survival came across in a very real way.
This is a well-structured dual timeline novel. One thread is from the past of 1943-44 with young Riccardo and sister Gabriella during WWII in Florence and the other is modern day London (2019) with Sofia, daughter of Riccardo, and wife Isobel who struggle after his death to understand who he was and his unusual art.
The prologue opens in 1943 where we first meet Gabriella who is trying hard to make gnocchi while dealing with restricted supplies. The family left their home in Rome because the Germans were heading towards their city. They escape with thoughts of safety to live in their high ceilinged palazzo in Florence. But we learn it is not long before danger is again on their doorstep and they must deal with horrid things no child or adult should ever have to face. We see the young sensitive Riccardo trying to cope with what is going on around him and finding release and solace in his art. But something happens to him that scars his body and mind. And then there is Gabriella who makes a terrible mistake and trusts the wrong person. A mistake that costs her family everything. And causes her to wear a mantle of guilt for the rest of her life.
In the current timeline, we meet Sofia trying to make sense of her late father’s artwork. His inspiration is somewhat of a mystery for he has not talked about it or his past. Since his death, Sofia is left with the responsibility of completing arrangements for an important showing of his life’s work. Her father is a famous artist but his paintings do not have any titles. He has only numbered them and one number and/or painting is missing. But he has left a surprise behind: tickets and detailed instructions in a letter to his wife Isobel to take a trip to his old home in Florence to see his sister Gabriella. Sofia jumps at the chance and encourages her mother to make the journey for she believes together they will find some answers. And, of course, they do and what unfolds is quite the eye opener. It is a time of bold truth, tragic revelations and ultimate healing. For what both Sofia and Isobel learn, helps them understand a little better Riccardo’s tortured mind and why he seemed to be such a difficult complex man. They also uncover the stories behind his paintings.
It is a moving delivery of an epic and emotional topic. Great sadness spills across the pages of this novel and emanates from the canvas of this artist. This may be fiction but the sting of reality runs clearly through the story’s bloodlines. The cuts and wounds conveyed are so real it makes you appreciate the modest freedoms we possess today and the ample food we have to eat in comparison to the World War restrictions and imposed shortages.
This novel made me uncomfortable, as it should have, as we must never become so used to people’s suffering that we feel nothing. Suzanne has painted a painful picture of a challenging era but it is an honest one. I highly recommend this novel but you may need to take breaks while reading it and keep a box of tissues close by!
5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a review copy.
