SO SO GOOD!!! Slow going at first but man it gets better and the ending really makes you think, loved it ( )

Hal, a post-WWII journalist, is living a very small life in Rome when he meets Stella at a very upper crust party. They come from two different worlds, but there is an instant attraction. However, Hal believes he will never see her again. There he also meets the Countess who is trying to get funding for a movie about one of her ancestors from the 1600s. She invites him to accompany her and the movie star cast of her film along the Italian coast to the Cannes Film Festival in her yacht, Pygmalion. He is to write an article about the trip, movie, and stars to promote her new film. Much to his surprise he meets Stella again, this time with her very wealthy husband who provided the funding for the film. However, his attraction to her continues. ( )

For my blog followers, I should first of all tell you, that this is not crime fiction, my usual fare.

This book tells its story through a number of time frames, which makes it a challenging read. In addition there are two main plot lines: the current story, and that of an old hand written journal. The author uses different type face too, presumably to help the reader decide which story you are reading.

Hal's initial invitation to a party being held by the Contessa comes from a friend who cannot go. The Contessa is throwing a party for her rich friends, trying to attract investment for a film based on part of her family history. Hal is a journalist who has been living in Rome since the end of the war. He manages by writing small pieces for a magazine but is in desperate need of work. At the party the Contessa takes a liking to him and promises to be in touch later. At the party he also meets Stella, who comes back to his flat with him - a one-night stand.

Fifteen months later the Contessa contacts him. The Film is made, she has funding, it is being released at Cannes, and she needs a captive journalist. And so the Hal-Stella story begins.

The blurb says this is an "epic love story". It is also about infatuation, possession, and the impact of events in Europe, in particular Spain since the mid 1930s, on the lives of families and individuals. ( )

This was so different from what I’ve read from this author in the past, I had to check that I was thinking of the right author. Then I realized that this was one of her older, first books. With that information, I found I did enjoy this book even though it’s not really my typical genre.
I like stories that are based in the past, but usually there’s a murder involved. No murder in this story, but there is a nice, low-key love story. Since I don’t read many (none) love stories, it was good that it was a quiet, romantic one.
The book goes back in time for Stella, who was born in Spain right before war hit her village. Then it goes to the book’s present day in the 50’s. After her father is killed in the war, she’s left to care for her little brother at 16 years old. Without giving away too much, she eventually finds herself alone.
But before her meet Stella, we meet Hal, a journalist without a huge future planned. Hal attends a high society party using someone else’s invitation, and this is where he meets Stella. The night is nothing like he expects and so begins the love story.
Although the ending is not exactly a surprise, there is a sweetness about how everything falls into place. ( )

A romance, almost an anti-romance, ‘The Invitation’ by Lucy Foley is a poignant novel with two parallel stories of dangerous obsession and fantasy.
Hal, who has drifted to Rome after serving in the Royal Navy in World War Two, leads a cheap life, surviving on writing assignments, living in a cheap area, Trastevere. One day he accepts from a friend an invitation to a party, an invitation the friend is unable to use. Arriving in his dusty suit, Hal feels apart from the glamour and wealth on show, the jewels, the gowns, the dinner suits. There he sees an enchanting, puzzling young woman who appears icy, untouchable, out of reach.
They meet again when Hal is invited by the hostess of the Rome party, the Contessa, to be attached as journalist to the forthcoming promotional tour for her film, The Sea Captain. They are to sail along the coast to Cannes where the film will be premiered at the film festival. Invitations, accepted and refused, feature frequently throughout the novel, forcing decisions to be made, plans changed, opportunities grasped. The close proximity of the group of disparate passengers begins to unveil secrets, cracks in carefully-controlled behaviour, shameful secrets and lies. As well as Hal and the Contessa, on board are the ageing, artistic film producer; the ageing, drunk leading man; the glamorous siren-like leading lady; the pale beaten-down photographer; the husband and wife investors; and Roberto, the Contessa’s skipper.
Within this story of a coastal journey is a story-within-a-story, the love story on which The Sea Captain is based. A sea captain returning home from a victorious naval battle rescues a drowning figure. Once on board, it is realised it is a naked woman. The captain is captivated by her, his crew fear she is a witch and will bring bad luck. On land, the captain keeps the woman as his mistress, given everything she might wish, in a lavishly-decorated house. It is a morality tale of the perils of attempting to mould another person into something you want but which they are not. This tale of the gilded cage echoes throughout the novel. So will true life mirror the film version of the story, or the true story? Of course a film is fictional, the truth being manipulated for dramatic effect, something which cannot be done with true secrets which have a way of making themselves known.
A sad, subtle tale of warning about obsessive love, fantasy and longing.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )