Eternal by Lisa Scottoline is a World War II historical fiction novel that takes place in Rome, the Eternal City. The prologue of the story begins in 1957, when the character Elisabetta decides it is time to reveal to her thirteen-year-old son who his father really is. She must also explain why she hid the truth from him until he was old enough. Elisabetta knows she must come to grips with the incidents that shaped her youth during the ventennio, which was the twenty years of Mussolini’s rule, and during World War II, before she can explain these things to her son.
Then the reader is taken back to Rome, 1937, when Elisabetta and her two best friends, Marco and Sandro, are carefree teenagers. Both boys have taken an interest in Elisabetta, and she, in turn, likes both of them. The boys agree to let the best one win her heart. As tensions grow in Italy, so does the relationship among the three friends. Elisabetta’s family disintegrates, and she must learn to take care of her alcoholic father and herself by waitressing. Sandro, who is a math genius, is forced out of school because he is Jewish. His father, a tax attorney, becomes active in the Jewish Ghetto community. Sandro’s mother, a beloved OB-GYN, is forced to give up her medical practice. Marco, who has a reading disability, drops out of school and begins working full-time for the Fascist government. Unbeknownst to him, his brother, Aldo, is working for an anti-fascist group.
The above description is taken from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40204619-eternal
Personal Commentary: This historical fiction illustrates the realities of post-war life in Rome, Italy. It is described through the eyes of teenagers who cope and survive during this period of time.
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