Tell Me No Truths
This is a complex and ambitious book for young adults, utilising multiple narrative strands and a wide cast of characters. Nico, a rebel at odds with his mother and possible new stepfather, finds himself sharing holiday apartments in Florence with the twins, Amber and Jade, and their parents. The teenagers all have their own secret agendas, and for all of them this break is more than just a vacation. The twins want to find out the truth about their recently deceased Italian grandfather, who refused to return to Italy after the Second World War, and Nico is keen to locate the reclusive crime writer E. J. Holm, whom he believes lives in Florence. Threads of inserted narrative recounted by a British secret agent during the Second World War, and references to the plots of Holm’s novels, add historical perspective and extra dimension to the young people’s quests. How these separate stories eventually mesh together determines the structure of the novel.
Art, in the form of both real and fictional works by Botticelli, and the setting in Florence and surrounding countryside create background light and shade. The language is sharp and pragmatic, no time lost in unnecessary description; the thrust of the story is carried by character development and dialogue.
This book, intended for young adults, deals with very challenging themes: war and death, including children, and the politics of Fascism and the Resistance in Italy during the Second World War. Despite this it is an accessible read, and I would recommend it for young adults of 12 – 16 years.
