Rafaella Cerullo Caracci, "Lila"

Lila still contains all of the force and blunt edges of the first novel in the series. The author has done an amazing job at creating a character that is both extremely modern, yet trapped in the role of a 1960s housewife. Early in the novel she finds herself asking how she ended up married to Stefano, but because of the time she lives in she must submit: to sex, to his will, to his betrayal of her when he made a business deal with the Solaras. He beats her to make her obey, a happenstance which her mother mentions is oftent the way of a wife. Yet, Lila manages in several situations to manipulate her husband and get exactly what she wants: for example, the photograph in the shoe store, the undivided attentions of Elena, and especially, the love of Nino Sarratorre. She is...