The House at the Edge of Night

I loved this book. Wonderful story and wonderful characters. It gives you real insight into what it would be like to live on a small Island where everyone knows everyone else's business, but also how they take care of each other. A gem.

Thanks to the store for highlighting this book or it would have been missed!
Reviewers use words like "luminous", "sweeping saga", and "enchanted tale". Those words are not enough.

This is like your mama's best pot roast ready in a crockpot when you get home from a long day of work. The house smells fabulous; the surprise of a hot, comforting meal takes you away from the rainy work day with traffic and the unpaid bills on the counter. You find your electric blanket turned on in your room and settle in with a bowl of pot roast, a glass of cold milk, and a good book.
Thank you, Ms. Banner, for transporting this reader to a place of wonder, conflict, hardship, and resilience. I have been transported to Castellemare.

Loved this book and the characters: generations of family leaving and return, discovering who they are and what they love. Sometimes home is right where you are. Beautifully written: enjoy this book and the small island of Italy through a 100-years of change.

I loved everything about this book from the first to the last page. It's not mind bending, earth shattering, or gut wrenching, and I didn't walk away with any big message . It is however , an engaging multigenerational family saga spanning almost a century and I found that I didn't want to put it down. There was not one minute that I wasn't interested in Amedeo Esposito , his family and their life on Castellamare , a five mile island off the coast of Sicily, so small that your neighbors know things about you before you do .

Amedeo, was an orphan , a foundling who was helped along the way in Florence by a caring doctor. He comes to the island in 1914 when he is 40 years old to take the position of island Doctor, but more importantly seeking a place he could call home and the life he has longed for. He finds that home and that life when he marries Pina and together they build a family and a business in the cafe/bar The House at the Edge of the Night. But life on the island is not always idyllic. People are not perfect and it is Amedeo himself who creates some scandal on the island. There are wonderful characters you will love with a couple of exceptions among the inhabitants of Castellamare . A place isolated from the modern world, immune to most of what happened outside of but not the changing tides in Italy. The outside world creeps in in the form of the fascisti as the island becomes an out post for Il Duce's prisoners and the sons are called to war.

An integral part of the story is Amedeo's love of stories - stories of saints and miracles, of fantasy and curses and real stories of the past. He makes a practice of recording in a red notebook , the stories he's told from when he was a child through his adult life. This beautiful collecting and telling of these stories which the author tells us in a note are based on Italian folklore.

You don't have to believe in miracles or magic, you only have to believe in the people of this island , the Esposito family over the decades and the townspeople because it's their humanity that made the everyday miracles in this story. It's a story of a family legacy - The House at the a Edge of the Night and the red notebook of stories they pass on. Catherine Banner clearly has a talent as a story teller and has created a beautiful story with an amazing sense of place and characterizations . Highly recommended.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for this ARC.

This portrait of a small Italian island has a great deal of charm. What it lacks, however, it an emotional core. The narrative jumps from one character to another, never really exposing any depth in any of them. Because the description of island life is engaging, the book held my attention up until the time frame edged into the late 20th and early 21st centuries. At that point, the islanders lived like everyone else so neither they nor their stories were particularly compelling.

Much more than just a good summer beach read, this is a great story about generations of a family who live, work and love on a remote island off the coast of Sicily. In the beginning, access to the island is by small boat. The sturdy original residents are governed by a "count" who makes all rules and pockets most of the income generated by the fishermen. Supporting the social life of the community is a bar/restaurant called the House at the Edge of Night, owned by Pina and Amedeo Esposito.

We follow the ups and downs of the Esposito family through all the growing pains of their family - and of the island, which, in the end, has become a tourist destination, accessed by ferry. The lives of the residents experience everything from receiving political prisoners during WWII, to Communism, to the final death of the "count". His widow builds a hotel on their land - huge competition for the Esposito bar in the beginning. When all settles, the House at the Edge of Night becomes a refuge for those who long for the earlier, more peaceful years.

The Esposito family experiences much of what all families endure - the high hopes for children, who disappoint when they take a different path, elation when one supports the family dreams, etc. The characters in this novel are people we recognize in our own families, the plot moves along at a comfortable pace, and the conclusion leaves the reader feeling satisfaction.

A good read no matter what the season!

This is a character-driven saga of a "village" if you will, located on a remote Italian island full of rich history, folklore and colorful characters. The island of Castellamare is portrayed so vividly here by this talented author, that it takes on a "character" of its own. We can easily picture the picturesque village with its bougainvillea and pathways of prickly pear, smell the salt of the sea, and sense the lulling rhythm of the ocean waves at the end of the day. The House at the Edge of Night, is the local cafe where the villagers meet daily to gossip, drink their cappucinos or limoncellos, discuss what is going on with whom, much like small towns everywhere. They love one another, support one another, pray and laugh together. They have heartbreaks, get emotionally involved in the economic upheavals of the time, as well as the political ones. Later on in the saga, the House at the Edge of Night becomes a combination of cafe/bar as it is modernized through the times, but it remains a central character in the novel. You will come to care for the main characters, and supporting characters, and will easily visualize the cafe and the cast of characters, as the author has captured and portrayed them. The women are making their pastries and rice balls, a staple of the House, of which I'd never heard, but certainly would like to try. You will feel as if you are sitting around the cafe with them as they sip their beverages and discuss whatever is pertinent to the times, or what is going on with any of their own.

Pull up a chair and enjoy your stay at the House at the Edge of Night. Take your time with it, don't rush. It is the type of novel you can put down when need be, and look forward to picking up at the end of the day. It spans generations, from 1912 to 2009. Personally, by Part 5 of the novel, I was ready for it to end. I never take two weeks to read a novel. However, I was never bored, it kept me vested and brought this reader to its satisfactory conclusion. The author's writing is impressive and I will keep an eye out for any future endeavors by Catherine Banner.

My all-time favorite movie, Cinema Paradiso, celebrated film, and to me The House at the Edge of Night is its literary equivalent, a book set in the same country and which celebrates the art of story-telling with the same charm. Its author, Catherine Banner, astoundingly still is in her 20s, this being her first novel for adults. I can’t begin to imagine the heights she’ll reach if this is just the beginning. The House at the Edge of Night is a bar located on the fictitious Castellamare, a tiny island off the coast of Sicily, and is at the center of this utterly delightful book. The island (and the bar) is filled with 4 generations of marvelously drawn characters. At the beginning is Amedeo, a foundling born in Florence, now a physician who comes to the island seeking work and whose family grows to include great grandchildren, each of whom adds to the novel's beauty (and kept me turning pages). But it’s not just Amedeo’s family that commands attention. It’s the other inhabitants and the island itself, each so beautifully rendered. There is a magic to this place, and without a doubt magic in Ms. Banner’s writing.

Castallemare is an island off the coast of Sicily. The book takes its title, The House at the Edge of Night, from a bar on the island, but the real story is that of the Esposito family. It begins with an orphan doctor who arrives just before the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, & ends with the financial crisis of 2008.

There is no ground broken in this book, but there doesn’t need to be. It is simply a beautiful tale of family, community & the changing ways of our world. Each section of the book is punctuated with a folk tale from Castallemare, & the book seems to take that shape in long form, with the Esposito family becoming their own folk tale. The family started with an orphan doctor who came to their shore, had an affair with the Count’s wife, & consequently lost his physician practice. Because he had fallen in love with the island, he found a way to stay by buying the old bar, The House at the Edge of Night. Here he raises his children & grandchildren, some who fight wars, leave for other countries, & some who can’t leave their home. The cast of characters on the island, families who live & die with the Esposito’s, are the perfect background for the story.

This book transported me to another place. I felt like I could hear the waves of the ocean, smell the bougainvillea & taste the homemade limoncello. I wanted to be there, & though the book wasn’t suspenseful, I couldn’t put it down. For me, a definite must read.

Tucked away on a tiny Mediterranean island sits a quaint little cafe’. It’s the heart of Castllemare and has been named by the inhabitants The House at the Edge of Night. With its old stone walls draped in bougainvillea, it rests atop nearly the highest point of the island and melts into the dark sky and vast sea that surround it.
Catherine Banner has created this fictional island off the Italian coast and I desperately want it to be real. Her beautiful prose bring Castllemare to life and I enjoyed every page of her gorgeous novel. I was lost in the warm breezes and the sounds of the sea while indulging in the story of the Esposito family that spans nearly 100 years.

We begin with Amedo Esposito who is a foundling, or orphan, in Florence. He grows up to become a doctor and eventually finds work on Castllemare. Amedo comes to make The House at the Edge of Night his home and works to continue running it as the local pub. Eventually, he marries a woman from the island and they have children. The story journals the many generations of the Esposito family in Castllemare.

It’s not often you can call reading a book indulgent but The House at the Edge of Night truly was decadent in every way. This is one of those rare gems that the reader should take their time in appreciating. Banners beautiful prose, lovely characters and absolutely charming setting make this a delightful read.

I loved every aspect of this novel. It’s the perfect summer read. You’ll surely wish you could visit Castllemare, as I did, once you’ve put this one down.

This one is the perfect read for any season--summer shade, winter cabin fever--just anytime one wants to read away to other times and places and observe a whole other society over the long term. It does not read quickly, but is more to savor and smile at the heartening parts while shaking one's head at the touching turns.
As others have mentioned, the locale is a five mile island in the Mediterranean that is barely accessible, populated by a convoluted collection of characters who act just like the rest of us. Early on, when a scandal broke, some took off work to keep tabs on the raging developments. Basically, Father Ignazio told the doctor, "I am not your confessor. Don't tell me more than I need to know. Get out there is stick to some story ASAP." Now how down to earth is that?
There are over 400 pages. Get your copy and enjoy it before you pass it on to your best reading friend.

The story of the residents of Castellamare, a tiny, rocky island shrouded in mist off the coast of Italy, as seen through the eyes the Esposito family from the years 1914 through 2009. The novel begins with Amadeo Esposito’s arrival as island doctor. An orphan, he is happy to get work, even in such a remote location. Called to serve in World War I, he arrives back home disillusioned by his experiences. Encouraged by Father Ignazio, he marries beautiful and intelligent Pina Vella. He is forced to relinquish his role of doctor after making some poor decisions, but finds a livelihood at an old bar, The House at the Edge of Night. He and his wife and their descendants continue to live and work here, serving and observing the island residents throughout the 20th century. The result is a wonderful family saga of the sort rarely seen these days, full of vibrant characters and made modern by the feeling of magical realism that pervades the novel. Perhaps nothing enhances this so much as the collected folk tales that precede each of the five sections of the book, as they set the tone for the story that follows. The House at the Edge of Night is a thoroughly enjoyable novel.

I love generational books, where the passage of years show us the negatives, positives, loves, losses and everyday lives of those introduced to us within the pages. This book was beautifully written, taking us to the island of Castellamare from the early days of donkey carts right up to the here and now of the internet. You cannot help but fall in love with all the inhabitants of this beautiful island and live their day-to-day lives with them and the passing of years right up to the year of 2010. Kudos to Ms. Banner for writing such a wonderful book and introducing us to Castellamare and its wonderful array of characters.