“A lushly written, dream-like modern gothic with as many dark turns and twists as the Montebianco family tree has branches. Welcome to the family.” – Paul Tremblay, bestselling author of Survivor Song
After a DNA test reveals that Alberta “Bert” Monte is the sole heir of a wealthy noble family in the Italian Alps, she leaves New York to visit the family estate: Montebianco Castle, a … estate: Montebianco Castle, a centuries-old compound isolated in the mountains. What appeared to be a fairy tale inheritance, however, soon turns into a nightmare as Bert begins to uncover the dark legacy of her family: the truth about the abandoned village at the base of the castle; the whispers of stolen children; and the rumors of a legendary monster in the mountains. As Bert unravels the truth, she learns that her true inheritance lies not in a noble title or ancestral treasures, but in her very genes, and now she must choose between preserving a secret centuries in the keeping or abandoning it forever.
“Vivid and uncanny…makes the most of Trussoni’s signature blend of science, myth, and mystery.” —Deborah Harkness, bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches
“Inventive and entertaining.” — People
“A Gothic Extravaganza.” —Kirkus
more
Danielle Trussoni’s vivid and uncanny tale THE ANCESTOR makes the most of her signature blend of science, myth, and mystery. As the pages turn, family secrets come to light against a gothic backdrop that will keep readers following the startling twists and turns all the way to the end.
The Ancestor is a wonderful shape-shifter of a novel. One minute you’ll suppose you’re in a haunted house: think Shirley Jackson. The next, you’re transported into the sort of world Mary Shelley might have created for Frankenstein. Danielle Trussoni is an immensely gifted literary descendant of both storytellers — they are among her ancestors — which is one of the many reasons why I savor her work so very much.
I don’t recall how I came across The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni, but I’m glad I did. For some reason I love to read gothic horror novels in the Summer… you would think I would prefer Autumn… so when I read the description I knew the warm Wisconsin weather would be perfect to counteract the cold temperatures and ice of the Italian Alps.
Trussoni hooked me right away with a mysterious document appearing and Bert needing to seek out her husband’s grandma, a woman who’s never liked Bert and you just know is a master at giving the evil eye, to help her make sense of the papers. She doesn’t get too much information but she does get more shade thrown at her and her family. Then we have a lawyer step in who seems like a dream man, the way he dresses, his manner of putting one at ease, and who’s free with giving out new clothes and large stacks of cash. Even with all the gothic horror that I’ve read I would have totally signed up to take a trip to a castle far away where all the townsfolk hated my family.
Once Bert gets to the castle the weirdness begins and so does the fun and chills for the reader. A mysterious person kind of seen through an upstairs window, gutted animals in a far wing of the house, you know, the things that make a good gothic tale. Trussoni must have read a lot of them because her descriptions and pacing is perfect.
When we finally found out the family secret it took an interesting turn and had me thinking about a favorite series of mine, the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire, so that made The Ancestor even better for me.
I don’t want to give too much away since the enjoyable part of The Ancestor is finding out what each layer contains, but I know I will be reading her next book no matter what it’s about.
A surprise inheritance, remote castle in the Alps, and a cursed family bloodline? Yes, please! The Ancestor is a gloriously modern Gothic novel, blending mythic monsters with modern science in ways that gave me a thrill. Danielle Trussoni has written one hell of a tale.
Danielle Trussoni’s THE ANCESTOR is a lushly written, dream-like modern gothic with as many dark turns and twists as the Montebianco family tree has branches. Welcome to the family.
When I won this book on Goodreads I was so very excited to read it and I can honestly say that it did not disappoint. The writing is beautiful, the storyline is original, and the goosebumps it gave me were so very real as if I was there in the story with the characters. It definitely keeps you enthralled to the very end. I loved every moment of it. I highly recommend The Ancestor.
There is a popular meme where a guy is walking with his girlfriend and another woman walks past them. He turns to check out the woman’s backside to the dismay of his girlfriend. We have used the meme for all kinds of things, including how readers have always succumbed to new book fever. The girlfriend in the meme represents the books you have been meaning to read on your bookshelves and the woman that walks by them represents a recent book you just read about on social media. Well, I became the latest victim of new book fever thanks to The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni.
The Ancestor tells the story of Alberta “Bert” Monte. Bert receives a letter claiming that she inherits a noble title and castle in Italy. At first, Bert dismisses the letter, but when a representative from the estate comes to meet her in New York and explains the details of the letter, she goes to Italy to find about her inheritance.
When she arrives at the Montebianco Estate in northern Italy, Bert learns the truth of her inheritance and the tragic family secrets that have haunted the family for generations. Bert is considered as the last family member that can save the family’s legacy and its genetic connection to something that puts their humanity into question.
The Ancestor reads like a page-turning thriller that is part science-fiction, part gothic suspense, and part Nora Roberts style of story combined. Trussoni does an excellent job in this first-person narrated story of letting the reader discover along with Bert as she learns more about her family’s unusual genetic history. People know intuitively when they differ from the rest of society, and Trussoni makes you feel that through Bert’s viewpoint in the story.
I was planning to re-read Eva Luna by Isabel Allende before I saw The Ancestor mentioned on social media as a new novel to read for spring. New book fever took over and I’m glad my book lust led me to an excellent story that might show up on many of the end-of-the-year lists as one of the best reads in 2020.
This book sounded amazing when I first heard about it, and I was thrilled to win a copy through the Goodreads giveaway. If definitely didn’t disappoint!
The highlights:
1. The story: From the beginning, this book felt like an homage to the classic gothic tales I love so much! It has all the elements: the gloomy, creepy, castle, the mysterious family rumors, and that eerie sense that something is going on that neither the reader nor the heroine knows about. Plus, it’s just a fabulous story. I was instantly immersed in Bert’s world, and couldn’t wait to read more to see what happened next.
2. The way it differed from classic gothic fiction: No big romance, no hero riding to the rescue. Main character Bert (short for Alberta) is also the heroine, trying to save the day (for herself and others).
3. The setting: I enjoyed reading about the Alps, as well as Bert’s time in Italy. The Montebianco castle was almost a character by itself…it was so well described that I felt like I was walking the halls along with Bert, and the descriptions of the Alps and the local area were also very detailed and interesting.
4. The science: I won’t add any more to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that Bert learns some truly interesting things before the story ends!
5. The REALLY unexpected bits: Again, to avoid spoilers, I obviously can’t say what they are. Where one character ends up, plus the last few chapters, are very surprising. I always appreciate it when an author manages to include things that I truly wasn’t expecting, so KUDOS to Danielle Trussoni!
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, and am very happy to add the author to my list of “must reads”!
Five out of five chunks of extra-sharp cheddar!
I am new to this genre, and I really enjoyed the book. I cannot compare it to others of the genre, so I will pass on what a friend said. She said she thought it gothic horror without being too cliche.
Okay, so my general thoughts. It got me hooked. I want to explore more of this genre. It had a dreamy quality. I was intrigued by how the main character’s personal difficulties were gradually explored and explained through the challenges of the story.
I had avoided Gothic because I had heard it was a lot of mistreatment of women and typically expected the reader to believe in ghosts and goblins. This story did not have those things. The MC did transform in unexpected and unforeseeable ways, and it was uncomfortable and scary for her in many ways but she essentially transformed into what she was all along. Fascinating.
(My edit added the following.)
Perhaps this is what Ann Radcliff meant when she described the difference between terror and horror. This I pulled from the Wikipedia article about her:
This I pulled from the Wikipedia article about her:
“…her unfinished essay “On the Supernatural in Poetry”, … details the difference between the sensation of terror her works aimed to achieve and the horror … Radcliffe stated that terror aims to stimulate readers through imagination and perceived evils while horror closes them off through fear and physical dangers. ‘Terror and Horror are so far opposite, that the first expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes and nearly annihilates them.'”
So it seems there is some Gothic literature that I would be very interested in that does not demean women nor expect me to believe in ghosts. I feel fortunate that the first book I read in that genre was like this.
This was a enchanting read for me! I am the person that believes that the Mariana Trench might just be the place where we will find a Megalodon living! I am the person who believes that there might just be a Loch Ness creature hanging out in the depths of the lake! So I loved this story! It touched an imagination in me that I have held close to me since I was young!
Favorite Quotes:
Listen to me, child. I saw it. The beast came for me on the mountain pass like a ghost with its white hair and devilish blue eyes. Its teeth were sharp as razors. But worst of all, it was so like us. Monstrous and yet so human. The legends were true.
… inheritance is a trickster. One generation may hide its genetic treasures, while the next will put them fully on display.
Leopold had described the village as a seed pressed into a rocky furrow, and it seemed exactly that: a furtive garden in a fold of stone.
How strange it felt, to sit there so openly, my feet exposed. A lifetime of hiding them had made me self-conscious to the point of neurosis. But there was no reason to hide my feet from these people.
My Review:
The Ancestor was a bracing and chilling tale of an epic legacy of dark secrets and unknown wealth hidden in the ice and snow. While not my typical read, I was quickly pulled into an oddly captivating vortex of unnerving and itchy intrigue. It was easy to follow, highly creative, monstrously eerie, and the most distressing part was that it was conceivably plausible. Despite feeling edgy, unsettled, and nibbling on my cuticles – I was enslaved by my curiosity and unable to put my Kindle down.
The narrative was richly textured, cunningly conceived, and maddeningly paced. I was engrossed and conflicted while I cycled between feeling appalled and entranced. To illustrate Ms. Trussoni’s exceptional word voodoo, I was mentally frostbitten by her descriptive depictions of the harsh Alpine weather that entrenched the beset characters while in reality, I was barefoot, clad in shorts, and comfortably lounging with an open window and ceiling fan on a balmy day in the tropics. She has mad skills.
This is a really fast read that gripped me right from the beginning. Absolutely loved it!
This smart, suspenseful thriller is at once an age-old tale and a fresh, scarily relevant trapdoor into our current genealogical obsession. Danielle Trussoni has written a biological and narrative labyrinth that you will happily get lost in, even as you question everything you think you know about yourself.
A young woman at a crossroads in her life is informed, out of the blue, that she is the last remaining member of an old, wealthy European noble house. In order to inherit, however, she must fly out to the family estate high in the Alps. There, she finds she’s a virtual prisoner in an isolated old castle, as she tries to piece together her family’s strange history.
While this may sound a bit redolent of Gothic thrillers like Dracula, that’s where the similarity ends. Trussoni takes us to new places in this book, places that only she can. The Ancestor proves Trussoni is not only a great writer, but she’s a daring one as well.
not what i thought – forced myself to finish – not what i usually read – sort of gothic, has some mystery, but boring for me in the long run. just wasn’t for me
I was surprised at the plot line and wondered if there would be sequels available.
Great idea, poor execution.
Enjoyable story. Different
What a great story! I couldn’t put it down, I was captivated. I loved this book and didn’t see the ending coming at all. I recommend this book.
Expect the unexpected.