This is a book entirely in diary form. You are pitched into an entry in June and it proceeds from there. You know nothing of the narrator's former life apart from what she chooses to tell you through the diary entries. You quickly put some pieces together though, she's lost a love in WW1 and has escaped to her mountain hideaway to recover her sense of perspective. Into this beautiful place come a pair of sisters, also widows, and finally her Uncle. he comes with one mission and leaves with something entirely different having happened. It is interesting in the dynamic between the diarist and her surroundings, her staff, her guests and the landscape. She responds to each of them in different ways, sometimes amusing, sometimes it brings pain, we can feel her loss and desolation and the comfort she finds in being in this happy place. It turns out to take them all somewhere else while not leaving the small confines of the house and surroundings. Melancholic but hopeful. This deserves reading at a slow pace. ( )

This is the first novel I have read by this Elizabeth von Armin. Written in diary format, the opening chapter begins in Switzerland with a beleaguered female main character attempting to revive her spirits directly after WWI. The writing is quite descriptive, with many passages devoted to the beauty of the natural surroundings. Thankfully additional characters are eventually introduced into the mix, in the form of two sisters who lose their way while sightseeing. A respectful type of camaraderie and reliance upon each other develops between the women.

Based on the ratings and reviews, this isn't Elizabeth von Armin's most popular book. After reading some background information about the author, it seems many of her fictional stories are semi-autobiographical. This particular story moves very slowly but offers historical insights into the cultural and emotional aftermath of WWI. It isn't a deep or taxing type of book, which worked okay for me in this moment. I would consider reading The Enchanted April or Elizabeth and Her German Garden in the future. ( )

Libro 'antico'. Chi scriverebbe oggi un romanzo in forma di diario? Antica anche la scrittura.
Ma dell'antico ha tutto il fascino e i pregi.
Da gustare. ( )

ugh, so disappointed by the ending. ( )

An unnamed woman retreats to her summer home in the Swiss Alps in the summer of 1918. This is her diary, in which she relates the power of this peaceful place in helping her heal after the sorrows of the war. We never learn exactly what she has been hurt by, but we can guess at her losses. One day, not long after she arrives, two women, seeking relief from the heat in the valley, come up the mountain and stumble upon our diarist. She invites them to stay with her to keep her company, and in the months that they stay, a friendship develops and healing begins. Nothing much happens in this little novel, but von Arnim's writing is so lovely with descriptions of the flowers and the mountains, it pulls you through to the end before you know it. ( )