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Summary
Summary
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 PromiseRichard 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 Promiseis in the end an uplifting, all-too-human tale about the magnificent power of true love.
Author Notes
Richard Paul Evans was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 11, 1962. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Utah in 1984. In 1992 while he was an advertising executive, he wrote a story about parental love and the meaning of Christmas for his daughters. The story, The Christmas Box, was copied and passed around to relatives and friends, and was published. It was adapted as an Emmy-winning television movie in 1995 starring Richard Thomas and Maureen O'Hara.
His other fiction works include The Locket, A Perfect Day, Promise Me, Lost December, A Winter Dream, A Step of Faith, and The Mistletoe Promise. His series include the Christmas Box series, The Walk series, and the Michael Vey series. He also writes non-fiction works including The Christmas Box Miracle: My Spiritual Journey of Destiny, Healing, and Hope; The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me about Life and Wealth; The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me for Women; and The Four Doors: A Guide to Joy, Freedom and a Meaningful Life. He has won several awards for his books including Romantic Times best women's novel for The Sunflower.
He is also a public speaker, traveling the country to bring awareness of the problem of neglected and abused children. In 1997, he used his Christmas Box Foundation to begin a shelter for abused and neglected children called the Christmas Box House.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Nov.) Forecast: A massive marketing campaign-including print, television and radio publicity, and an author tour-should land this on plenty of holiday wish lists. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Richard Paul Evans teaches us how to love again. Perhaps figuring that not quite enough has been written about the bellissimo Italian countryside and the ability of two damaged individuals to find love in spite of all obstacles, author Evans (The Locket, 1998, etc.) presents the story of Ross and Eliana. Once called Ellen back in her small Utah town, Eliana is now the wife of Maurizio, the Italian who swept her off her feet before becoming a philandering pig, and the mother of sweet, asthmatic Alessio. Ross Story (yes, that's right) is an American with a Dark Secret who comes to the Chianti countryside after wandering Italy In Search of Himself. Once an ad exec back in Minneapolis, Ross now conducts tours of the Uffizi museum and lives next door to Eliana. She's trapped in her marriage-Maurizio won't divorce her and says that even if she leaves, the sexist Italian court system won't let her take Alessio with her-and Ross seems to have a lot on his mind too (though exactly what isn't revealed until dramatically necessary). A chaste flirtation between Ross and Eliana (helped along by the fact that Maurizio's stereotypical self is always out of town sleeping with other women) blossoms into a chaste romance, Maurizio's Passionate Mediterranean Soul burns with jealousy, every woman in the land swoons over the strong but sensitive Ross and the spirit of God is ever present over all the gentle goings-on. There are also enough Italian tips to stock a good pocket-sized phrasebook and some bottled art-history lessons that don't overly tax the brain (Ross is a tour guide, after all). One wonders why Evans bothered sending his American lovers-to-be all the way to Italy when they could have just fallen in love in the States, but no matter. Either way, this shameless wallow is just begging to be mocked. Doubleday Book Club super release; Book-of-the-Month Club/Literary Guild featured alternate selection
Booklist Review
Evans, author of the slightly sappy and melodramatic crowd-pleaser The Christmas Box (1993), is back with another gooey tale of romantic love, heartbreak, and a nearly missed opportunity. It is set in rustic Florence, Italy, and tells the story of an unloved and unhappy American woman, Eliana, who is trapped in a bleak marriage to the philandering, stereotypically chauvinistic Italian, Maurizio. When she met and fell in love with him in America, he had exhibited none of these traits, but in Italy he has taken on a different personality. Although she'd like to divorce him and return home, Eliana cannot because he refuses to allow their son to be taken out of the country. So instead of taking action, she wiles away her days wistfully dreaming of better times, dabbling in oil painting, and taking care of her asthmatic son. Soon a single, handsome, and art-loving American man, Ross, takes up residence in the villa. The two strike up a friendship and are drawn even closer when Ross accompanies Eliana to the emergency room with her ailing son. Events conspire to keep the kindred spirits apart, but like all good romance novels, this one has them living happily ever after at the end. Evans has a very loyal fan base, so librarians should purchase multiple copies. --Kathleen Hughes
Library Journal Review
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. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.