Family
To say that one of the themes of this novel is simply love is to wildly understate things. Family is more like a thematic tapestry in which the narrative unwinds. The story begins with the death of a mother and the promise of a daughter. As the story unfurls, family secrets are revealed, truths are learned, and the very idea of what makes a family is expanded and upturned. In short, everything that happens in the story stems from familial connections. The theme of family can effectively be summarized as suggesting that almost every significant event in the lives of the average person stems directly from the intricate web of generational connectivity.
All Parents Were Young Once
The short version of the story summary of this novel is that a young daughter goes to Italy, reads a journal written by her mother when she was around the same age, and ultimately learns that even parents once had exciting and secretive romantic escapades. Situated at the center of the daughter's trip to Italy is the discovery of a handwritten journal. The journal exposes a completely new and unknown—and unexpected—side of her mother. The journal tells of a grand romantic adventure that allows her to make a deep connection to her mother that likely would not have been made had her mother not succumbed to cancer. By the end of the book, the daughter has learned a thematic lesson that often escapes children until they have become parents themselves.
Grief and Mourning
The entire story which comprises the narrative of this book commences with the tragic death from cancer of the protagonist's mother at a relatively young age. The present-day events essentially commence from the origination point of one single request made to the daughter by the mother shortly before she dies: "Lina, I want you to go to Italy." The mother could have made this request while still healthy, but significantly holds back until her approaching death. In fact, she repeats the question with the additional detail of making it clear that this trip needs to be after her death. The daughter only agrees to fulfill her mother's wishes because she is trying to deal with mourning and overcome grief at losing her mother.
