Farewell My Life: Buona Notte Vita Mia
A Cinderella-ish tale with not-so-charming princes in the edgy setting of 1920s and 1930s Berlin during the rise of the Nazis, Farewell My Life spins an operatic tale of dangerous love, obsession and loss; of crumbling, dissolving and nothingness, that revolves around Grace, a shy 17-year-old whose fabulous talent for the violin promises a shimmering career.
The Story Behind This Book
In 2007, I wanted to write a Great American Novel that celebrated my 25 years of living in this country. Ten years later, I finally finished the book. It took another couple of years to do the audiobook version, and finally I was ready to publish in 2019. The kernel for the book was of a young woman violinist who had to leave home suddenly. It is loosely based on the story of my own violin teacher, who went to Berlin to study violin in the late 1920s.
Praise and Reviews
“A unique, deftly scripted, and extraordinary novel by an author
with a distinctive narrative storytelling style that will hold the
readers dedicated attention from beginning to end, "Farewell My
Life: Buona Notte Vita Mia" is an impressive and unreservedly
recommended addition to both community and academic library
Contemporary Literary Fiction collections. One of those rare
novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after the
book itself has been finished.”—Mid-West Book Review
“The author knows her characters very, very well; this shows in
the consistent and very individual way they act. This is not a
plot-driven story; it’s character-driven. In this book, the
characters are the jam which holds everything together. The best
example of this is Grace, the talented violinist, who, simply,
jumps off the page. I loved her.”—Wishing Shelf
“This is not your typical mystery; it’s for fans of thrilling action
and historically-inspired events…Contra to the status quo of the
genre, the men are the romantics – though in a deranged manner
– and the women showcased are the core strength of the
novel.”—BookLife Prize.
“The author…adeptly summons the era in all its manners and
details with her descriptive prose…Her omniscient, third-person
narrator effectively flits through the heads of various characters,
offering momentary glimpses of their inner lives.”—Kirkus
Reviews