I was swept along by Baily's writing and thrown fully into the world of 1920s Italy. Her rich descriptions made this a great holiday read allowing me to be fully immersed in the story.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Set against the backdrop of Italy's colonial presence in North Africa in the inter-war period, this novel features a young Italian woman who becomes involved with a particularly vile Fascist officer, putting her family in danger. The plot unwinds slowly, revealing what happened to cause the 69 year old Liliana to be estranged from her family. This novel is well written and solidly entertaining with some nice character development and an intriguing setting. The 'baddie' is particularly enjoyable - he's really very vile indeed.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group, and the author Virginia Baily.
I am a big fan of historical fiction, and I really enjoyed this novel. I had a little to no knowledge of Italy's occupation of Libya, and was fascinated to learn some of its colonial history.
An incredibly absorbing story, with vivid characters and scenes, most notably in the relationship between Liliana and Farida. I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in this genre.

I really enjoyed this novel- a great read about a part of Libya I know little about, yet the descriptions and in depth knowledge of the author on the history of the area meant I could vividly imagine it. Telling Lilianas story when she arrives in the 30s hopeful and enthusiastic, expecting one thing and finding another- the area as well as her new relationship with her brothers new wife, and Lilianas story in 1980s London looking back on her life. A deep, knowledgeable story that had me hooked.

Italy’s colonisation of Libya has been fruitful subject matter for numerous historians, but here it forms the backdrop of a truly engrossing and accomplished novel.

Liliana decides to follow her brother to Libya, full of enthusiasm and vigour, but it proves to be more than a coming of age exercise. The world she encounters is far more sinister and corrupted than she could ever have envisaged. Virginia Baily’s ability to convey a sense of time and place is superb; the level of detail immersive. The pace can feel a little leaden in parts, but it is not hard to feel completely swept along with Liliana’s personal journey. ‘The Fourth Shore’ will undoubtedly garner plaudits across this summer’s recommended reading lists- and deservedly so.

Having read good reviews of her previous book I was looking forward to this. I enjoy a novel that has its background in real life historical events and times, and indeed this story did feel very well researched, with some interesting facts through out the book. However I personally felt it lacked something in its story line that keeps me wanting to read on, and I struggled to engage with its main characters. Remember this is just my personal opinion and I am quiet sure it will appeal to many others.

Liliana has grown up in a harsh Catholic family in Italy. Her beloved older brother Stefano has to move to Libya, Italy's "Fourth Shore" after he is tortured by being force feed vast amounts of castor oil for his left wing views at the end of the 1920's. During an expedition into the desert he mistakenly looks upon a local girls face and has to marry her and pay her "bride price" . His new bride is reluctant to go outside in Tripoli uncovered so Stefano saves to enable his sister Liliana to come to Libya to help "Italianise" his bride but enroute she meets a handsome older man, a general in Il Duce's army who wreaks havoc on her family.

An epic sweep of a book. I would have liked a bit more about the politics or Libya and Italy especially after the Mussolini years and how it impacted the Libyan side of the family. The "mystery" was totally predictable and could be foretold from quite early on and the constant jumping back and forth on multiple time lines was distracting and irritated me as all novels these day seem to employ it and there is absolutely no need to do it in this case. This book is long and epic and a straight narrative or a look back through Liliana's elderly eyes would have sufficed.

There was an awful lot to like about this book, it certainly kept me engaged and I really felt for the young Liliana and how she blamed herself for all the bad things that ensued from her disastrous "love" affair when in reality she was a child who had been exploited, groomed and raped..

I found this an uneven book: it opens vividly as 18 year old Liliana arrives in Tripoli in 1929 to stay with her brother who has been forced to leave Italy for not being a member of Mussolini's Fascist party, Libya being an Italian colony, taken over in pursuit of Spazia Vitale, the equivalent of Hitler's Lebensraum. But then almost immediately we're taken back in an extended flashback to when Liliana is 12, and it's about 100 pages before we return to her journey to Tripoli.

In the meantime, we're treated to yet another of those over-used split narratives that introduces us to Lili at 69: nothing much happens in this 'now' strand other than to make the point that Libya comes under the repressive rule of Gaddafi - and to eventually solve one of those ' dark family secret' mysteries that abound in fiction. Liliana makes irritatingly cryptic comments ('Farida must have told Stefano what Liliana did and he must have decided he no longer wanted to include her in his life') - creating a kind of 'fake suspense' as everyone else knows what Liliana did 50 years ago, except the reader - though it's not hard to make a pretty close guess because, again, the 'secret' is an over-used trope of contemporary fiction.

If I'm sounding irritated, it's because in between the over-used fictional clichés and the technical issues with dry flashbacks filled with 'telling', masses of indirect speech and switching PoVs, there's some really good stuff here. When we're in the sections where 1929-30 is the present, we have a gripping story of Liliana's corrupted innocence. The scenes of Tripoli are evocative and her friendship with a Bedouin woman are beautifully done with nuance and intimacy. Stephano's desire that Farida is 'Italianised' is another form of colonialism, acted out on a personal level. A subtext is also raised as to why some people accept complicity with corrupt regimes such as fascism or that of Gaddafi and why some people rebel and resist, whatever the personal cost - but this theme isn't explored any further.

Flashes of thoughtful political engagement and some lovely writing about female friendship, cultural difference, colonialism and betrayal get over-written and bogged down in the 'mystery' of what Liliana did 50 years ago that separated her from her family. Too many time-switches, an unnecessary 1980s strand, and a melodramatic 'secret' took away from what I enjoyed about this book. A leaner, more pared back story after a ruthless edit would have made this a stronger read for me.