The Invitation

Summary (from the publisher): Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again.

But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime--acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.

Of all the luminaries aboard--an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director--only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history.

An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us--no matter how much we try to escape them.

 

Review: I received an advance reading copy of this book as a giveaway on Goodreads.

 

This novel opens in Rome in 1953 and follows Hal, a journalist struggling to make ends meet and recover from his experiences during the war. One evening he finds himself a guest at a wealthy palazzo and meets the mysterious and beautiful Stella. For one night, they steal away, but Hal doubts he will see Stella again. But a year later, Hal is asked to serve as a reporter for a new film at the Cannes film festival. En route, Hal discovers that Stella - and her husband - are among the ship's party. In alternating chapters, the reader gets glimmers of the story told from Stella's point of view, including flashbacks to her childhood in Spain in the 1930s. Additionally, the novel follows the tale of the sea captain that inspires the film that brought Hal and Stella together. The sea captain is bewitched by a mysterious and beautiful woman who appears out at sea, and seems to lose himself entirely in his devotion to her.

 

The Invitation was easy to read and quickly reeled me in with Hal and Stella's impulsive plunge into the heart of Rome, which was reminiscent of Roman Holiday. The tension between Stella and Hal propels the reader onward, curious to see where the love triangle will lead. Furthermore, Foley uses unique turns of phrase that provided a vividness to the story. For instance, the glass that has fallen from the hand of a drunk, sleeping man is described as rolling "gently back towards them, the slice of lemon flopping onto the deck like a tiny, dead fish" (83). The view of the houses of Portovenere as seen from their ship are described as being "like the bright spines of so many books crammed together onto a bookshelf; a quiet spectacle" (83). Stella's husband, who hides a violent tendency behind a charming façade is likened to the ivory trade: "the violence polished into something benign" (209).

 

There is a haunting parallel between the love triangle of Hal, Stella, and her husband and the sea captain and his lady from the sea. Just like the mystery woman from the sea, Stella is kept inside and treated like a beautiful possession by her family and hides her past from her husband. And like the mystery woman, Stella proves in the end that she cannot be owned; "you can't own another human being - least of all a woman like her. You can only love her" (304). In reading the sea captain's journal that inspired the film, Hal is unwittingly reading a foreshadowed rendition of how his own love triangle will unravel.  

 

I did feel as if Stella's final escape was improbable at best and Hal's response melodramatic. For that matter, Hal's invitation to serve as a reporter for the film seemed unlikely, as he was of a lower social and professional status than the rest of the film's party. Despite the undoubted attraction between the two, the book did not give me a sense that Hal and Stella had a deep connection or pull between them that would justify either's actions. With the exception of Stella, who was aided by childhood flashbacks, the majority of the characters seemed shadowy and lacked depth.  Despite these flaws, and a plot that dragged somewhat in the middle, this was an enjoyable work of a historical fiction with intriguing characters and lovely, poetic language.

 

Stars: 3. 5