I have had an eReader for about 5 years now, and I LOVE it. Having an eReader allows me to combine my two favorite activities, holding a baby and reading a book. Another benefit of having an eReader is the ability to download books from the comfort of my own home. As a mother of young children even going to the library can be a challenge. However, with the abundance of free public domain classics, stories that have stood the test of time, I have easy access to hundreds of incredible free books that I might not have found before.
For example, a few years ago we were lucky enough to live in Italy and as I was swapping book recommendations with a good friend of mine she told me about the great Italian Classic “The Betrothed” by Allesandro Manzoni. I was unable to find an English translation at the time and so I filed it away in an old “to read” list. A few years later I was looking for something to read and rediscovered this book, I was excited to find I could download it for free and quickly began reading.
The Betrothed is a historic historical novel. The story takes place in the lake region of Northern Italy during the 1620’s and was written in the 1840’s. The story focuses on the tale of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia. Because “bad guys” will be bad, and cowards will be cowardly the two young lovers are prevented from getting married. They seek the help of a very saintly priest who helps them escape the region until the situation preventing their marriage at home is resolved. The rest of the novel follows the two young lovers as they go their separate ways hoping to reunite soon.
Lucia herself is a very devout, fervent, and innocent young woman. Your heart breaks for the life she finds herself in compared to the life she had planned for herself. Yet through it all she remains steadfast in her faith, always trusting in God and seeking counsel from those in a position of authority over her. Her faith in the midst of some very terrible circumstances actually transforms and inspires those around her. Renzo is an impulsive young man affected by the emotions and thoughts of those around him. He benefits greatly from the strong faith of his love Lucia, but falters a little bit when they are forced apart. He makes some poor decisions and then bravely suffers as a result of those choices.
Even though Renzo and Lucia are the main characters of the story, the setting plays an incredible part of the story as well. Manzoni, the author, gives us many details into the daily life of medieval war torn Italy. Through the eyes of the characters we witness a famine starved mob roaming the city of Milan, the horrors and sufferings of the plague stricken countryside, and the fear of the advancing looting German army. The history soaks into the story and plays its own part in the plight of our characters. For example, in the beginning of the story we read a brief study on when, why and how the local government tried to fix the bread prices, this leads to famine and riots which Renzo finds himself in the middle of. A little later in the story we are given a summary of common ways medieval doctors thought the plague was spread, one idea was an advancing army would send sick people in disguise into the city to weaken it making it easier to conquer. As a result poor Renzo enters an unfamiliar city and finds himself the focus of suspicion.
There are also many secondary characters that help or hinder our couple along their way. The novel is rich and lengthy and so we are allowed small glimpses into the past of several secondary characters who cross paths with the two lovers without distracting from the the main story. Some are good and some are bad. There is a nice balance between the two extremes. On one extreme we have Don Rodigo the villain responsible for the separation of the couple compared to Brother Cristoforo who is a humble and saintly friar that helps the couple escape. We also learn about Don Abbondio, the priest too afraid to stand up for what is right and Federico Cardinal Borromeo who is a generous and gentle bishop that provides beautiful guidance to our heroine. The theme of comparing character traits to several supporting characters makes the individual stories very memorable both for their own story and for the small part they play in this story without distracting from the main story/plot.
There is so much that is good in this story. There is much to be learned from the setting alone, and when it is interwoven with this wonderful story of love and redemption while enriched/embroidered with the small side stories of our supporting characters, there is not much else left to add. The story can be a little long, there are 720 total pages in which this tale unwinds, but I would say it was worth every paragraph. Every back-story and historical explanation plays a very important part in understanding the whole novel and the circumstances our characters find themselves in. There is enough action to keep you interested in what will happen next, and the story moves along very quickly. There is also enough interesting historical information to keep you informed of the significance of the events as they take place. I encourage you to give it a try, let me know what you think.
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