Hot Chocolate at Hanselmann's

A work of understated elegance and cumulative power, this novel eases readers into a drama unfolding within a Catholic family in Italy on the eve of World War II. As scenes only dimly understood by the child Lorenza are revisited by the woman she becomes, what seemed a family affaira romance involving Lorenzas mother, her fathers Jewish friend Arturo, and her aunt Margot in Switzerlandbegins to reveal the broader outlines of the drama of history, in particular the tragedy of Italys Jews during the Holocaust. Limning the interplay of past and present, of memory and presence, this haunting work by one of Italys foremost writers brings to life the subtleties and complexities of history as it is experienced, interpreted, and relived within the most intimate of realms.