The time is 1943, a time of war. The place is the hill-perched town of Nemi, in the Alban Hills south of Rome, overlooking the crater lake where, 2000 years before, the Roman emperor Caligula sailed his gigantic ships to the Temple of Diana. Just a few years before the war, the ancient ships, sunk after Caligula's death, had been miraculously recovered from the lake and placed in a lakeside museum. Paolo, the museum curator, now struggles to protect these treasures from Allied bombs and the depredations of the Germans in a world where the struggle for simple survival makes such efforts seem irrelevant. He watches with disquiet as the German occupation brings together Rosanna, his daughter, whose innocence is brutalized by the horrors of the war, and Klaus, a German officer whose high ideals and love for Rosanna cause him conflicts of loyalty. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians Yes Conflict: Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 () Europe Yes European country: - Italy Writing Style Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |