Book Summary and Reviews of The Red House by Mary Morris

Book Summary

Award-winning novelist Mary Morris weaves together an unsolved family mystery, a poignant coming-of-age story, and a little-known corner of World War II history in this lyrical novel of family, loss and, ultimately, love.

Thirty years ago, Laura's mother, Viola, went missing. She left behind her purse, her keys and her mysterious paintings of a red house. Viola was never found, and her family never recovered. Laura, an artist herself, held on to the paintings. On the back of each work, her mother scrawled in Italian, "I will not be here forever." The family never understood what Viola meant.

Decades later, at a crossroads in her marriage and her life, Laura returns to Italy, where her parents met after World War II. Laura spent the earliest years of her childhood there before the family moved to New Jersey and settled into an American dream that eventually became a nightmare. Viola, who claimed to be an orphan, staunchly refused to speak of her life before marriage.

In Italy, Laura finds herself on a strange scavenger hunt to solve the puzzle of her mother's lost years. She is certain that the paintings of the red house hold the answer to her mother's past and her search takes her from her hometown of Brindisi, deep into Puglia where she encounters a man who knew her mother and who illuminates little-known secrets of Italy's Second World War.

Blending elements of true crime with settings that evoke Elena Ferrante, Laura follows her mother's trajectory as she ventures north to Naples, Turin and finally home. Along the way, she confronts the dark truth of her mother's story and at last makes sense of her own.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Mary Morris says that normally a writer chooses the story she wants to tell but that this story chose her. Why do you think she feels that this story "chose" her?
2. How much research do you think Morris did to write this novel? Does it feel more like a story to you than a piece of historical research?
3. Morris reads and speaks Italian. Do you imagine that helped her with her research? Do you think she could have written the book without that knowledge?
4. The novel moves back and forth in time. Did you find that satisfying? Was it a challenge or confusing to you?
5. Laura has an interesting profession, staging real estate for sale. Do you think that Morris picked this with intention? Does it work well to help build the ...