The Blows of Fate

About the Book

This is a story about a grand love destroyed by the communist regime established in Bulgaria after 1944. The repressive, totalitarian government transforms the lives of three good friends, Maria Luisa, Giuliano and Stephan, into a nightmare.  Stephan’s family is interned out of their home and all their properties are misappropriated. His father can’t survive the blow and dies paralyzed. Stephan escapes to the United States.

Maria Luisa’s family is also interned out of their home.  Her father, the best surgeon in the country, is murdered. Maria Luisa escapes to Italy to Giuliano’s relatives. There she gives birth to their son, becomes a model and then a surgeon.

Giuliano’s father, a violinist, is fired for political reasons. To support his family, he goes to work in construction, where an accident disables him forever.  Giuliano must take care of him, and can’t follow Maria Luisa. Because of his political convictions he is sent to a communist concentration camp for two years.

While life is very difficult for the three friends, they do not forget each other. After 40 years of separation, they meet.  For each one fate has prepared a surprise…

About the Author

Antoinette Clair (this is her pseudonym) has three degrees – in Italian Philology, Bibliography and Management & Marketing. Most of the time she worked as a sales representative for Italian companies, and after 1990 as an executive manager. Since 1997 she have lived in the U.S. in suburban Philadelphia with her husband and son. The Blows of Fate is her first novel; she is currently completing her second.