A nearly abandoned Italian village, the family that stayed, and long-buried secrets from World War II.
On 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.
But 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 harboured, gave the cottage to them in gratitude. 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?
Dominic Smith’s Return to Valetto is a riveting journey into one family’s long-buried story, 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.
Buy a copy of Return to Valetto here.
Read some great reviews from our Preview readers here:
A wonderful read – there are so many interesting layers to the book. Set in a largely abandoned village in current-day Italy, with history playing an influential part in the story. Three eccentric sisters live with their mother – a grand dame about to turn 100. A birthday party is due to be held. The grandson of the grand dame arrives. He is an academic who lost his wife in past years and is grief-stricken. During the Second World War, amongst all the atrocities, there was a shocking crime committed that was felt by the central characters. The legacy of this crime is central to the book. However, the book is not grim. There is even a touch of romance. The book is all about relationships – some complicated, some not. Sandra, ACT, 5 Stars
Return to Valetto is a novel of sadness for times past and hope for the future. Through the character Hugh Fisher, we travel back in time to discover long-hidden secrets that unearth uncomfortable truths. Hugh and his family discover their true history and confront the past. There is a sense of loss throughout the story for so many Italian communities that were once vibrant and thriving and now have become ghosts. Communities disbanded and distributed across the globe and the stoicism of some who refuse to give in. Hugh is sensitive and vulnerable as he negotiates his own personal grief but there is a promise of new beginnings, and I was left with hope for the future. A novel that was truly engaging and beautifully written. Denise, TAS, 5 Stars
Return To Valetto is a compelling fiction about family life, based in a little Italian village. Hugh is a historian who returns to the abandoned fictional town of Valetto in Italy, where he spent many summers as a child. His grandmother, Ida Serafino is turning 100 and is planning a huge celebration. Hugh plans to see his extended family and stay at the cottage that was given to him by his mother. However, a stranger is already occupying the cottage with claims that Hugh’s grandfather promised the cottage to her family after the second world war. Secrets are uncovered and we are given an insight into family life during the war. This is a beautifully written story centred on family and loyalty. Understanding their feelings, I really perceived the characters come to life. With little Italian phrases scattered throughout the novel, combined with the descriptive scenery, I really felt like I was in Italy. Christine, QLD, 5 Stars
Return to Valetto is a gentle, engaging read set in Italy. The story is interesting, and the characters are well-developed. I loved the glimpse into Italian country life, Italian cooking, and the fragments of Italian that are intertwined with family secrets from World War II. The narrator is an American-Italian academic and a likeable character. I passed it on to our 15-year-old to read and he enjoyed it too, although it is a far cry from his usual reads. Nell, NSW, 5 Stars
In this evocative and descriptive novel, historian Hugh takes a six-month sabbatical in his mother’s ancestral home in Umbria, only to find a woman claiming his late mother’s cottage. The story weaves through the history of the town and its families, revealing an unacknowledged and unresolved traumatic event. With a strong sense of place, humor, and heart, the book teaches a valuable lesson about the importance of understanding both sides of a story. Kerrie, NSW, 5 Stars
In the village of Valetto, which once had a population of 3000 people, due to earthquakes and landslides, now only 10 live there: the three Serafino widows and their 99-year-old mother who is turning 100 in a few weeks, along with their cook and other helpers. Their nephew, historian Hugh Fisher, often visited in the summers when he was a boy but since his mother passed away, she left the cobblestone house to him. On his recent visit, he is told that a woman has taken over the house and claims it is hers now, left to her by Hugh’s Grandfather. The sisters have brought in Rinaldo Fumigalli, a retired private detective and Orlando Fiorani, the Serafino’s local lawyer, to get to the bottom of the matter and kick her out. Through the digging, some skeletons from the past raise their heads and long-lost facts arise and bring up unwanted memories they would rather forget. I found this book a great page-turner and would highly recommend it. Sue, NSW, 5 Stars
This book took me back to the Italy I visited a few years ago. The small hilltop villages were reminiscent to Valetto. The Serafino family are about to celebrate Ida’s 100th birthday, but it is overshadowed by a secret from WWII and a dispute over the ownership of a small cottage in the grounds of the family’s villa. A well-written book. Easy to read and hard to put down. Loved it. Vivien, ACT, 5 Stars
Abandoned villages hold a lot of history; Hugh knows this because of his extensive research into these types of places. But when he returns to the almost abandoned villa of his childhood, his own family history begins to unravel with the presence of a mysterious squatter. A story that spans generations and is set amongst beautiful Italian countryside and delicious food. Love, loss, the trauma of war and how these themes are carried across families makes for a book that captures your senses, your heart and kept me up too late reading into the night. Tess, TAS, 4 Stars
Dominic Smith has expertly explored a delicate time in Italy’s history and weaved it perfectly with a modern story. Our protagonist Hugh learns the long-buried secrets of his family after meeting his mother’s childhood best friend. Not at all a story he was expecting, it explains quite a bit from his own childhood that he never quite understood. Smith describes the Italian countryside with the experience of a local, so much so that you will feel like you’re sitting in the passenger seat of a Fiat yourself. This is a lovely novel that explores the secrets that can bind a family while keeping them apart. A must for any lover of fiction. Amy, NSW, 4 Stars
Constantly intriguing, gorgeously written and incredibly heartfelt, Return to Valetto ticks all the boxes of a romance-revenge tragedy. The town of Valetto is so vividly described, it felt like I was transported there and wished it were true. Sure, some of the aunts blend into one another, but the payoff when you find out what caused this family’s implosion is totally worth it and overshadows this flaw. Highly recommend it for fans of crime, romance and historical fiction. Nicholas, VIC, 4 Stars
An interesting and enthralling family history, the threads of which are slowly revealed as the characters play their parts and the story unfolds. I found the writing descriptive, thoughtful, at times sensual and quietly evocative, particularly enjoying sections capturing a feeling, a thought, or a moment. For many of us, there may be similar threads in our own pasts. Jenny, VIC, 4 Stars
Dominic Smith is a writer skilled at evoking a sense of time and place; in this book, the abandoned town of Valetto and its bridge to the modern world literally and figuratively loomed large over the story as a metaphor about attempted abandonment of the past. The ending tied together perhaps too neatly but was an effective illustration of how history and family relationships are a living thing that need to be assessed and revisited later in life through an alternative lens to derive further meaning from them. It will appeal to fans of Sarah Winman, Anthony Doerr and Amor Towles as a slow but satisfying read. Rhiannon, NSW, 4 Stars
Dominic Smith’s use of language in Return to Valetto is evocative and expressive and quickly transports the reader to the Italian countryside and the abandoned village that is home to just a handful of people now. The storyline weaves back and forth from the second world war to the present day as the reader is drawn into the mystery that surrounds the past. I particularly enjoyed the references to the relevance and importance of food in the lives of the characters. Descriptions of the meals cooked and the recipe book from the restaurant from long ago added an extra dimension to the narrative. I enjoyed Return to Valetto for the great character development and use of language combined with a believable and interesting story. Jane, NSW, 4 Stars
A beautifully detailed and written book that depicts the intricacies of families and major world-altering events. It made you think about the ripple effect that events have on generations and how one might deal with them decades after the events. Phoebe, VIC, 4 Stars
Return to Valetto is a heart-wrenching tale of unspoken family secrets and promises from beyond the grave. Set in a crumbling medieval Italian villa in a slowly dying village in the Umberian countryside, our tale begins with Hugh Fischer visiting his ancestral family home. But his time there will not be the relaxing sabbatical he was expecting; instead, he is met by an intruder (Elisa) who says her family have a claim to his family’s cottage, a promise from a long-dead grandfather, that she intends to collect on. What ensues is a tale of woe, misery and the trauma suffered by their deceased family members during WWII. Together, Hugh and Elisa unravel the secrets of the past, long buried, in order to bring a sense of closure to those that have suffered. Dominic Smith has a very descriptive style of writing that effortlessly transports the reader into the story in a way that makes it easy to fall in love with the main characters as they embark on their journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and to change familial relationships for the better. Jamye, VIC, 4 Stars
It was such a beautiful read – I would have read for the scenery alone. In terms of storyline, it is ‘an Italian soap opera’, so it really kept the pages turning quickly, but that exploration of being allowed to forget and dealing with those ‘actions (that) had flowed across the decades like a tidal bore coming upriver’ will stay with me for a long time to come I’m sure. A really beautiful read, I think it would be perfect for book clubs and solo readers. There is a lot to think over, so that’s always nice to do in a group, but it’s more pondering… it’s not hard and fast. Claire, VIC, 4 Stars
We follow the story of Hugh as he makes his way back to his mother’s village on a hilltop in Umbria. Hugh aims to reclaim his Mother’s stone cottage from a Milanese squatter who claims the cottage was gifted to her family by Hugh’s Grandfather on his deathbed after World War II. We see Hugh discover a hidden secret that has not only shaped his Mother’s life but his own as well. A beautifully written whirl through history and the Italian countryside. Nektaria, VIC, 4 Stars
This was such an interesting story set in a near-abandoned Italian town that was once a refugee hub during World War II. The story is about three widow sisters, one grandmother, and an American nephew and grandson who returns to this town to find out what happened to his grandfather, as secrets unfold about his own mother. At the same time, someone from their past tries to claim the family villa. I was completely transported to Italy while discovering more about the Serafino family. Marie, NSW, 4 Stars
This is one of those quiet novels that draws you in and then takes you along for a ride that isn’t what you expected when you started. Hugh is an historian who returns to his mother’s ancestral home in Umbria for a 6-month sabbatical. His aunts and grandmother are all a-flutter about a woman who has moved into his late mother’s cottage and is claiming it was promised to her mother by Hugh’s grandfather in the 1940s. What starts as a tale of trying to get their cottage back turns into a journey through the history of the town and its families, and a traumatic event that has gone unacknowledged and unresolved for decades. This is an evocative and descriptive novel with a very strong sense of place. The town of Valetto is a character in itself and the descriptions of the landscape, town, and buildings bring you right into the story. The topic is a serious one, yet there is humour and heart in the writing. I started out expecting one kind of story and found a story about something entirely different, and a lesson about how there are always two sides to every story. Monique, QLD, 4 Stars
Visit abandonded village on a hilltop in Umbria; meet academic, Hugh, an Amercan-Italian who returns to his mother’s Umbrian hometown, to find himself unexpectedly confronting trauma from previous generations that’s shaped his life; journey with Hugh in cars and on trains as he returns to Valetto and endeavours to solve the legal issues that arise when a letter and a stranger arrive and challenge the family’s past. Be drawn into the riveting journey of this family’s dark history, a betrayal, a disappearance, and an unspeakable act of violence. Wonder who will answer for the crimes of the past? A jolly good read. Mars, NSW, 3 Stars
The images of Valetto that the author was able to describe had me painting a picture of the village in my mind and I could envision having travelled there. I felt the storyline itself was too descriptive and I didn’t need that much detail to help the story along. For me, it only really got going towards the end. Unfortunately, this book failed to hit the mark, but I did enjoy my tour of the village. Jo, VIC, 3 Stars
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