Richard Paul Evans is one of the world's most beloved storytellers. Here, in his latest novel, he tells a love story about facing the greatest decision of all...choosing between the love for a child and romantic love.
When Eliana, still called Ellen by her close friends back in America, moved to Italy the future was bright with promise. Tuscany held magic in its sprawling vineyards, great food, and centuries of art. It was a life of the senses, perfect for a blossoming, talented young artist such as Eliana. Her family and friends back home all thought she had made the right choice in following her heart, and the man she fell in love with and married, back to his native country. In America, Eliana's story was that of a fairy tale.
But in Italy, in the small, rustic village nestled in the Chianti countryside, Eliana found her husband to be a very different man. Over time he distances himself from her, leaving Eliana to care for their young son, struggling with the asthma that threatens to take his life.
Although she longs for the romance she'd known in America, Eliana is happy as a mother and with the time she spends with her child; yet when fellow American Ross Story, a deeply thoughtful man with a mysterious passion for art, arrives at the same villa, a chance encounter causes Eliana and Ross to look at their lives anew. And with their discovery that individuals may change and grow, they can never forget that the bonds of family last forever.
In The Last Promise Richard Paul Evans spins a passionate, bittersweet tale about the fantastic joy and great sorrow life can throw our way. Rich and complex as a vintage Chianti wine, The Last Promise is in the end an uplifting, all-too-human tale about the magnificent power of true love.
The Tuscan setting of this new novel by the bestselling author of The Christmas Box is as beguiling as its heroine. Ellen, now called Eliana, has been living in Italy for several years. She's a talented artist in her 30s, originally from a small town in Utah. She came to Italy to study art and soon met and married Maurizio Fernini, the head of a large family agricultural enterprise. What seemed like a fairy tale quickly soured-Maurizio now spends much of his time traveling and philandering, leaving her to care for their severely asthmatic son, Alessio. Eliana knows that in her adopted country she's expected to shrug philosophically at her husband's cheating, but she remains furious and desperately lonely, and even considers illegally fleeing back to America with Alessio. Then she meets American Ross Story, an art lover and tour guide who knows everything about everything in the Uffizi Gallery. Eliana asks Ross to sit for a portrait, and soon she's not nearly as lonely as she used to be. But as the two fall for each other, she faces a tormenting choice between romantic love and her love for her son. Evans paces his story skillfully and plays up the Tuscan landscape to maximum effect. His literary devices can be a bit stale (the first paragraph of the book's first chapter has Eliana studying her reflection in a mirror), but he does offer a gender-bending twist on the age-old story of romance between artist and subject. Those who enjoyed The Christmas Box are in for another treat. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Evans is billed by his publisher as a brand name, and you know the brand. An American wife in Italy, ignored by her Italian husband and caring for a sick child, risks bittersweet romance with the new man in town. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Richard Paul Evans When Richard Paul Evans wrote the #1 best-seller, The Christmas Box, he never intended on becoming an internationally known author.
Officially, he was an advertising executive, an award-winning clay animator for the American and Japanese markets, candidate for state legislature and most importantly, husband and father. The Christmas Box was written as an expression of love for his (then) two daughters. Though he often told them how much he loved them, he wanted to express his love in a way that would be timeless. In 1993, Evans reproduced 20 copies of the final story and gave them to his closest relatives and friends as Christmas presents. In the month following, those 20 copies were passed around more than 160 times, and soon word spread so widely that bookstores began calling his home with orders for it.
His quiet story of parental love and the true meaning of Christmas made history when it became simultaneously the #1 hardcover and paperback book in the nation. Since then, more than eight million copies of The Christmas Box have been printed. The Emmy award-winning CBS television movie based on The Christmas Box starred Maureen O'Hara and Richard Thomas. Two more of Evans's books were produced by Hallmark and starred such well-known actors as James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Naomi Watts, Mary McDonough and Academy award winner Ellen Burstyn. He has since written 10 consecutive New York Times bestsellers and is one of the few authors in history to have hit both the fiction and non-fiction bestseller lists. He has won three awards for his children's books including the 1998 American Mothers book award and two first place Storytelling World awards. Evans's latest book, The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth, is now available.
Of his success, Evans says: "The material achievements of The Christmas Box will never convey its true success, the lives it has changed, the families brought closer together, the mothers and fathers who suddenly understand the pricelessness of their children's fleeting childhood. I share the message of this book with you in hopes that in some way, you might be, as I was, enlightened."
During the Spring of 1997, Evans founded The Christmas Box House International, an organization devoted to building shelters and providing services for abused and neglected children. Such shelters are operational in Moab, Vernal, Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah and Lucre, Peru. To date, more than 16,000 children have been housed in Christmas Box House facilities.
As an acclaimed speaker, Evans has shared the podium with such notable personalities as President George W. Bush, President George and Barbara Bush, former British Prime Minister John Majors, Ron Howard, Elizabeth Dole, Deepak Chopra, Steve Allen, and Bob Hope. Evans has been featured on the Today show and Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Time, Newsweek, People, The New York Times, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, USA Today, TV Guide, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle. Evans lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children.
This was my first book by Richard Paul Evans. I have always loved Nicholas Sparks and was recommended this because the writing is supposed to be similar. If you like Mr. Sparks, you will love Mr. Evans as well!
It is a story of a young American woman who marries an Italian man, moves to Italy, has his child and lives a very lonely life in a loveless marriage. She meets an American man and they become fast friends and soon fall in love.
The story is wonderful and you will find when you finish the book you wish it was not over. I fell in love with the characters. Well at least the main characters, Eliana and Ross. Eliana's husband left a little to be desired.
Mr. Evans is a superb story teller and I will definetly read more of his books. Marvelous!!!!!
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If you want to visit Italy and can't afford the time or the cost just buy Richard Paul Evans book. Not only will you feel like you are in Italy, but be so wrapped around the characters, the beauty of the countryside and wonderful use of the Italian dialogue (which is translated in English) that you will have to stop working just to get back to reading this great book. I read it in a few days and finally finished it late one night. I haven't read such a great book in years. I miss the characters already and wish I was back in the pages of The Last Promise, because it warmed my heart with love, suspense and Italy.
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I would have given it a five ~~ but towards the end, the story seems to have been rushed ~~ and it wasn't satisfying as I had hoped!
However, this is an incredibly romantic story of a married woman who falls in love with an American who has a dark secret. Eliana is married to the owner of a vineyard in Florence, Italy, and is the mother of an ashmatic son. Left behind at the vineyard while her husband Maurizo travels 350 days out of the year ~~ Eliana never realizes that she is lonely till Ross Story, a mysterious American, rents one of the apartments in the villa. Drawn to one another through a love of art ~~ they quickly realizes that they are soulmates. And this is their story.
It is a quick read ~~ one to inspire sighs over the Tuscany landscape and art museum and the descriptions of food makes your mouth water. And the writing is artful ~~ leading you to the conclusion. If you're looking for a wonderful book to take to the beach this summer, this book is it. You can escape into the landscape and the romance ~~ and finish it in an afternoon.
3-16-03
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