Séverine is 17 and sure her face will grace the covers of magazines. She eschews responsibility and lives a blessed life in Corsica, entirely bored with it all, with no concept of the political unrest surrounding her. When she is first kidnapped by freedom fighters seeking Corsica’s independence from France, she’s terrified and appalled. Before long, however, she’s one of them. She’s working the fields outside the urban and learning about political philosophy from their leader, Bruno. She oozes sex and charisma and soon the group realizes making her the face of their revolution will push their cause further than anything else. It may have been different than she imagined, but Séverine’s face is, indeed, on the front page of every newspaper. And she laps it up.
I was unaware of this part of history and enjoyed being enlightened. That said, the book felt a bit slow at first and I was unsure of Séverine’s true feelings and some of the other character development. How much does she love Bruno and how much does she love the attention? How much does she believe in the cause and how much does she enjoy the spotlight and relish the praise of a job well done? Is Bruno naive or evolving?
4 out of 5 stars.
Pair with: chilled gamay wine
Peaches to Apples 