The Ghost Lovers
A Novel by David Orsini

Reviewed by Lois Cuddy
Author of T. S. Eliot and the Poetics of Evolution

“Like other fiction by David Orsini, The Ghost Lovers is wonderfully written and crafted with a strong, dramatic plot with unforgettable characters who are haunted by the ghosts of the past; and with a setting of natural beauty that is often in stark contrast to the violence and brutality of battle in war-torn Europe. Orsini has created a fast-paced and fascinating thriller that keeps the reader engrossed to the last line.”

The Ghost Lovers
A Novel by David Orsini

Reviewed by Martha McCann Rose
Professor, Class of 2017 Dean, and Faculty Fellow at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.

David Orsini has ventured into an exciting genre with his novels THE WOMAN WHO LOVED TOO WELL and THE GHOST LOVERS. Through these captivating stories, he traces the personal transformation of Simone and Marc, members of the French Resistance during World War II. Their conflicted lives in both novels are anchored to a World War II setting, to obsession and betrayal, and to the tragic complications of their love. By the end of THE GHOST LOVERS, the reader understands the ways in which the war and a willful love triangle have changed Marc and Simone. They are not the same, relatively unscathed human beings that the reader meets at the beginning of THE WOMAN WHO LOVED TOO WELL. They have grown wiser. Their characters are touched with bitterness. They have become tragic. Orsini creates compelling portrayals not only of Marc and Simone, but also of all the other characters in these two novels, including Gerhard, Hans, Marianne, and Henri. His language transports the reader. Through vivid imagery and well-researched details, these rich characters propel riveting scenarios. The plots are fast-paced and offer the reader several surprising twists. There are moments when the reader cannot absorb the news fast enough. I was eager to know what was next. Descriptions are so complete that I felt the chill of the Alps, the cold steel of the weapons, and the tension of the conflicts. Orsini’s control of the pace of the stories, his depth of knowledge of the times, and and his command of language make these novels worth the read.