Reader discussion: The Enchanted April

Public reader discussion about The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

[Vote] May Gutenberg Selection

By Lake_Frog

Hey folks! This is the place to vote for the Gutenberg pick. Since it’s from public domain, it should be open for everyone. Voting’s open for about four days, through April 13 at 11:59 pm PST, and they’ll announce the winner sometime by April 14. Here’s what the book needs to fit: - under 500 pages - nothing we’ve picked already - any genre is fine - it has to be public domain right now An anthology is okay too, as long as it matches the rules. Just double-check the previous selections so you don’t repeat something. Goodreads is probably the easiest way to estimate page count. You can drop as many nominations as you want (one title per comment), and vote for anything you’d actually join. There’s a suggested format for posting, but you don’t have to link Goodreads/Wikipedia—just don’t use shopping links (they’ll get removed).

Books That Will Make Me Feel Like I’m Spending the Summer In Italy

By field_simple

I’ve really enjoyed The Neapolitan Novels and Call Me By Your Name. What else should I read? I’m in the mood for literary fiction, and I don’t mind if there’s some romance in the mix.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim [Classics](1922)

By copperThread1972

This one has that whole “what if a getaway fixed everything?” vibe. Four women, a medieval Italian castle, lots of wisteria, and enough alone time to actually feel like themselves again. They basically hook up through an ad in a London paper, expecting some kind of relaxing holiday… but instead Portofino kind of flips a switch back in them. I couldn’t stop thinking about whether it would work on their husbands and lovers too, like the book almost suggests, but I’m not sure. Also, it was a huge hit in the UK and the US, got picked for a Book-of-the-Month Club thing, and later turned into that big movie and even a Broadway play, so yeah—it clearly struck a chord.