Twice Born: A Novel

Together with her sixteen-year-old son Pietro, Gemma travels to Sarajevo, the city where Pietro was born in 1993 during the siege and the place where Gemma's husband Diego and the love of her life was killed. Gemma and Diego's story is told through numerous flashbacks as the reader returns to Sarajevo with fifty+ year-old Gemma who's trying to come to terms with the past and the Diego's death. Thus the reader finds out that unable to have children of her own and after many heart-breaking attempts, Gemma convinced Diego to "hire" a surrogate mother, a young Bosnian Muslim woman. This is the basic premise of the novel, BUT there is so much more to this complex story then that.I have to admit that the reason I gave the book "only" four stars has to do with the fact that the first half of the book is rather slow-going (this is where Gemma and Diego meet and fall in love and try to have a child of their own, and all the main characters are introduced). While Gemma's all-consuming desire to have a child from the man she loves is portrayed well, I wished for a little more "action" and found the author's language a bit "crass" at times (I'll admit I'm not a fan of profanities in literature). In addition, on an emotional level I had trouble connecting with Gemma and didn't really get her feelings for Diego. The second half of the book, however, more than makes up for the occasional slowness of the first half. This part cleverly brings all the different threads of the story together. Emotionally it packs a punch and I defy even the most hard-hearted reader not to shed a tear and be haunted by the story long after closing Mazzantini's novel.

This is a seriously good read, but it was marred by its unnecessary length and repetitive detail. A bit of editing could have tightened it up and made it a much sharper and easier book to get through. For instance, the lovely concept of the nape of the neck got a bit over-done really.As a story it had all the elements of surprise, adventure, the love affair and the mystery. The ending was a surprise, but of course, in retrospect, should not have been, given the name of the book.I see the book is now a movie - from my point of view the story is far too gritty to be an enjoyable movie, and we have seen so much of the detail over the years in WWII and of course, the Serbo Croatian war. But that is me, I don't like looking at war, grit, dying people, and such like.If you are thinking about reading this - just do it. And persevere - it is really good.

This is one of the most striking books I read for the last 10 years or so. The reason is that it is rare kind of writing when all ideas and subjects culminate in one "knot" at the end of the novel. Many (especially detective) stories have a key at the end and we love this. In many of these books the story, the key or the subject become unusually, surprisingly, mysteriously presented at the end and we always say 'Wow!" just because we did not expect (or least expected) the ending or some unusual twist that occur at the end. Mazzantini is different. What she did was not just this "unusual happening at the end", but very deeply painted (almost like El Greco) the quintessence of war, love and longing of woman to give a birth to child, all three so important and basic to our lives, regardless of time and geographic space. And all this happens in "one shot" when we least expect it. I think that Mazzantini's design of the drama is purely genius. And not surprising, since it took Margaret seven years to write a book (according to one of her interviews on the web). I highly recommend it.

Wow.The main reason I bought the book is because I really didn't understand how/why some of the characters did what they did in the movie. And as the movie doesn't allow you inside their heads, you have to rely on a quite a lot of symbolism in order to figure out what is going on at times. Reading the book actually gave me closure that the movie did not.That said... what an incredible book! It is a tragedy, but it is also a picture of the strength of the human spirit. Though set in the former Yugoslavia prior to and during the war there, the story isn't about the war or the siege of Sarajevo, but the three people around whom most of the story centers (Gemma, Diego, & Gojko) and their relationships.The book is slow-moving in parts, but does keep your attention. Although I wouldn't classify this book as a romance by any stretch, it will likely appeal more to women than men.

this is a story rich in flashbacks and journeys.as it involves many cities and many different time settings, yet all is encapsulated in the narration of a summer trip to sarayevo of a woman in her 4os takes with her reluctant teenager son, starting from their city, Rome, nowadays,the vivid images offered by the author lead you deeply feel every charachter and their circuimstances including the cities and the societies in them. this is a book of many levels, and every story in it is a journey in itself. beyond the societal and historical perspective, the little story that opens to us is one of the most overwhelming, hard and emotional, so every page is needed to get you to the last page.the most reccomended reading if you like to learn about forgiveness and happiness.

Very good story follows the movie of the same name very closely and excellently written. 4 stars are some parts are long winded and could be condensed. Interesting view into the war in Sarajevo and struggles of families and their intimate secrets

I watched a trailer for the movie this novel was based on staring Penelope Cruz and Emile Hirsche last week. Knowing that I wanted to see the movie I decided I should read the book first. I am so happy I did! I have never read such a heart felt story. The author is so talented in describing emotions, I am afraid I may be let down when I watch the movie. She describes a war I knew nothing about, but now I feel knowledgeable and she gives such an accurate description of deep love. I connected with this book. Margaret Mazzantini is an artist. I loved this book.

This was a very intriguing read. I was drawn in to the story although at first I found it difficult to like the main character. However, I did understand that someone in her rather uneventful life might be attracted to something or someone just a bit different. What made it more interesting for me was the personal history of the seige of Sarajevo. Some of the book made for very painful reading, all the more so as it reflected the real life situation of that terrible war. This was the first time I had heard of this author but hope to read more by her.

I really liked this novel, from the graphic similes to the fractured rat-a-tat of eras changing, quick fire. The main character, Gemma, was made all the more real by her sometimes unlikeable demeanour - are we not all imperfect protagonists in our own life stories?It's an engaging read which has captured my imagination and done what other books have not done in recent months: made me think. As yet, I don't want to start another novel because I am happy to think about this one still.

The book is wonderful and wonderfully written in Italian. The story is moving and gripping but unfortunately the English translation doesn't do the book justice. I am an Italian born and bred and I have been living in England for 8 years. I am fluent in both spoken and written English and I must say i could not read the book in English. It's full of words and expressions that are correct in terms of grammar but mean absolutely nothing in terms of context . There are better ways of saying used in English everyday language which weren't used in the book. Instead the translator preferred very convoluted expressions which didn't transmit the emotions behind the words. So disappointed.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that has impacted me as much as Twice Born. I couldn't predict what was going to happen, and I couldn't put it down, either. The beginning drags a bit, and sometimes I wasn't sure if I really "liked" the main characters, but that's okay. Overally it's written very well. My only complaint (and it's minor) is that there seemed to be product placement in the book.... ? Why mention specific brands when just generalisms would be better?

enjoyable but Too often i had to force myself to continue reading it. It's extremely sad and not just for the argument treated. The introspective of the author is borderline dark. Too often I was left feeling depressed and a sense of anguish is transpiring throughout. The book is beautiful and the theme is indeed a sad one but the many details and argumentation , risk to turn the book tedious. This is one of the reasons I gave four stars.. Coupled with this I did not like the translation and found the printing errors (at least in the kindle version) distracting. I enjoyed the ending more than the rest of the book for the (finally) note of optimism.