{"product_id":"return-to-valetto-by-dominic-smith","title":"Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA nearly abandoned Italian village, the family that stayed, and long-buried secrets from World War II.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn a hilltop in Umbria sits Valetto. Once a thriving village-and a hub of resistance and refuge during World War II-centuries of earthquakes, landslides and the lure of a better life have left it neglected. Only ten residents remain, including the widows Serafino - three eccentric sisters and their steely centenarian mother - who live quietly in their medieval villa. Then their nephew and grandson, Hugh, a historian, returns.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut someone else has arrived before him, laying claim to the cottage where Hugh spent his childhood summers. The unwelcome guest is the captivating and no-nonsense Elisa Tomassi, who asserts that the family patriarch, Aldo Serafino, a resistance fighter whom her own family harboured, gave the cottage to them in gratitude. Like so many threads of history, this revelation unravels a secret - a betrayal, a disappearance and an unspeakable act of violence - that has impacted Valetto across generations. Who will answer for the crimes of the past?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDominic Smith's Return to Valetto is a riveting journey into one family's long-buried story, a page-turning excavation of the ruins of history and our commitment to justice in a fragile world. For fans of Amor Towles, Anthony Doerr and Jess Walter, it is a deeply human and transporting testament to the possibility of love and understanding across gaps of all kinds - even time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"thebibliophilecandleco","offers":[{"title":"Used Hardback","offer_id":49287768080611,"sku":null,"price":21.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0655\/0018\/4803\/files\/62039243.jpg?v=1782067820","url":"https:\/\/thebibliophilecandleco.com\/en-ca\/products\/return-to-valetto-by-dominic-smith","provider":"thebibliophilecandleco","version":"1.0","type":"link"}