{"product_id":"book-gtui","title":"Return to Valetto","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Edoardo Ballerini's adroit narration conveys the subtle changes in\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ethe family, set against the splendor of Valetto's changing landscape.\"- \u003ci\u003eBookpage \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Last Painting of Sara de Vos\u003c\/i\u003e, Dominic Smith's\u003ci\u003e Return to Valetto\u003c\/i\u003e tells of  a\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e nearly abandoned Italian village, the family that stayed, and long-buried secrets from World War II.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn a hilltop in Umbria sits Valetto. Once a thriving village-and a hub of resistance and refuge during World War II-centuries of earthquakes, landslides, and the lure of a better life have left it neglected. Only ten residents remain, including the widows Serafino-three eccentric sisters and their steely centenarian mother-who live quietly in their medieval villa. Then their nephew and grandson, Hugh, a historian, returns.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut someone else has arrived before him, laying claim to the cottage where Hugh spent his childhood summers. The unwelcome guest is the captivating and no-nonsense Elisa Tomassi, who asserts that the family patriarch, Aldo Serafino, a resistance fighter whom her own family harbored, gave the cottage to them in gratitude. But like so many threads of history, this revelation unravels a secret-a betrayal, a  disappearance, and an unspeakable act of violence-that has impacted Valetto across generations. Who will answer for the crimes of the past?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDominic Smith's \u003ci\u003eReturn to Valetto\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting journey into one family's dark history, a page-turning excavation of the ruins of history and our commitment to justice in a fragile world. For fans of Amor Towles, Anthony Doerr, and Jess Walter, it is a deeply human and transporting testament to the possibility of love and understanding across gaps of all kinds-even time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49353560490288,"sku":"BDgtui","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/gtui-cover.jpg?v=1761001044","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-gtui","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}