1922, in a small village in the area of central Italy known as the Ciociaria, bathed by the green waters of the river Liri and framed by the Aurunci mountains, Filomena suddenly loses everything she holds dear, her parents. After the death of her mother during the Spanish 'flu outbreak, her father decides to leave the country and seek his fortune abroad, never to return. Raised by her elderly grandparents, Filomena endures hardship and hunger in an era when illiteracy is still widespread. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, she is forced to make painful personal sacrifices when she finds work in the capital city and leaves her village in the hope of improving her miserable circumstances.
Beguiled by life in the big city, despite her initial feelings of distrust, Filomena is still willing to believe in love until she comes face to face with betrayal and the prejudices of the time and eventually decides to return home.
There she finds herself caught up in the Second World War, as her village lies directly along the German Gustav line.
Will she find the strength to rise from the ashes and survive death and destruction?
"Flowers in the Rubble" is Monica Maratta's first novel and was inspired by events in the life of her beloved paternal grandmother and the inhabitants of the village where she was born and raised.
A bitter-sweet novel set in a time when love smelled of sugar and cinnamon, bitterness and dust, in a time when Italy was governed by a reckless and ill-equipped regime, Filomena shows strength and courage, in her struggle to survive and keep her distant, long-time love close to her heart.