Visit City of Illusions

City of Illusions

By Judith Works

There’s no place like Rome.  With its abundant architectural and artistic riches, Rome celebrates more than 2,500 years of history.  Judith Works’ City of Illusions has given me an exciting taste of contemporary Rome, with its historical backdrop and with its shadows of intrigue.  Et tu Brute?  This novel is an exotic work of fiction that transported me inside a beautiful culture, and a troubled marriage.  Will our heroine excavate love from among Roman ruins?

Rome was not built in a day.  Great things, great places, and great marriages are not achieved without effort and patience.  Something that looks so good on the surface you realize can be deceptive as you delve into its layers.  As the story progresses, Judith skillfully peels back those layers in each of her characters, revealing their motivations and dramas.  From the start, I’m interested in the stormy relationship shown between Laura and her husband Jake.  Just like the characters, I found myself fervently hoping that a change of scene could be arranged, and could be the way to a happily-ever-after.  And Rome is full of surprises.

This author beautifully paints the story, to match the incredible cover art on the book.  I really appreciate how generous Judith is with her description of Rome and the characters’ surroundings.  Along with the famous sites, the reader is treated to a view into the Roman culture that only expats experience.  It includes every day conversations with residents, visits in their homes, and descriptions of the wonderful meals.  That’s right, not just the food, eating is presented as a cultural event.  We also get a taste of the language scattered throughout the book in little phrases and descriptions, which is really fun.  Try reading those out loud.  It’s fascinating following our characters through their daily routines, and even more so following them as they stray from their daily routines.

Judith is the right author to imagine a novel like The City of Illusions.  She interrupted her life in process to temporarily work at the United Nations office in Rome and live there as an expat.  Her love for Rome and Italy shines through every page, and translates into a wonderful stage for this novel of adventure and intrigue.

Thereby hangs a tale . . . .