Poco antes de morir, la madre de Mischa dona al Museo Metropolitano de Nueva York La Virgen gitana, un cuadro original del afamado pintor renacentista Tiziano, que ella había ocultado todos esos años sin que su hijo lo supiera. Poco a poco, Mischa descubre que esa misteriosa e hipnótica pintura está muy relacionada con su propia vida, en especial con los difíciles años de su infancia durante la posguerra europea. La súbita reaparición de un antiguo compañero sentimental de su madre, que había desaparecido de la faz de la tierra treinta años antes, planteará nuevas preguntas e inquietudes. En sus esfuerzos por desvelar el misterio de esa obra de arte escondida en secreto durante tanto tiempo, Mischa descubrirá amores, resentimientos y sensaciones que creía olvidados pero que lo habían marcado desde su más tierna infancia. Siguiendo el hilo de La Virgen Gitana, viaja por distintos países hasta que, en el final de su búsqueda, regresa al pequeño pueblo francés de su infancia donde unas cartas y postales olvidadas tal vez escondan las verdaderas claves de su existencia. Este largo camino le dará la posibilidad de encontrarse a sí mismo, cerrar viejas heridas y transitar esta nueva etapa junto a su antiguo amor.

Not sure about the quality of writing. Is it usual to find 6 year olds who can say things like "Nazi is a state of mind not a nationality"? Disappointing. ( )

American art dealer Mischa discovers, just prior to his mother's death, that she is in posession of an unrecorded Titian. To discover it's provenance, he has to go back to the French village of his childhood, where he and his mother were barely tolerated because he is the son of a German officer, born during the occupation of WWII. He confronts his past and old ghosts, and finds out the truth about his family.

A large part of this book takes place in post-war France, and I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I did want to find out the story of Annouk and the painting, but in the end, when Mischa returned to France, there were just far too many coincidences for it to be credible. There was also far too much sex, as Mischa seemed to fall into bed with pretty much anything in a skirt he came across, and none exept one encounter had anything to do with the story.

It was ok, a quick and easy read, but could have been much better. ( )

Dit zijn van die heerlijke vakantie- en zomerboeken. Toch zit hier wel een ernstige ondertoon aan. De tweede wereldoorlog speelt een rol in het verhaal van Mischa. Als kind van een Duitser, verwekt tijdens de bezetting van het dorpje in Zuid-Frankrijk, heeft hij het niet makkelijk als kleuter. En dit blijft hem zijn hele leven achtervolgen. Af en toe was het moeilijk om droog te houden. ( )

This was very well-written. Santa Montefiore surely knows how to tell a story. Mischa, the main character was a very sweet boy with abandonment issues. As he approached his teenage years, he started to loose control and to put more and more walls around himself. Walls who were only down when he was with his beloved mother since their relationship was very special. When she dies, Mischa decides to resolve a mystery left unresolved when she died, and is forced to face some of the demons from his past.

Ok so... this was a good book, with a good story and characters. It could have been so much better, though. It was a bit slow until the middle of the book (more or less), I would say and the story had a few clichés, but it was a good book which I enjoyed reading. :) ( )