Hello everyone, welcome to my stop on this tour!
I have a story to tell you, Diane. It is my story and your story and the story of a century that remade the world. When we reach the end, you will be the ultimate arbiter of whether it was worth your time. You will also sit in judgement on me.
In a cottage in Normandy, Lina Rose is writing to the daughter she abandoned as a baby. Now a successful if enigmatic author, she is determined to trace her family’s history through the two world wars that shaped her life. But Lina can no longer bear to carry her secrets alone, and once the truth is out, can she ever be forgiven?
Chonghaile stuns in her second book for Legend Press weaving a complex narrative covering conflict, secrets, judgement and what it takes to sever family ties.
This was an unusual story, mostly because it is written as a series of letters. I found this really intriguing but had to make sure I concentrated with each letter to ensure I knew what time period we were in. I am always fascinated by different styles of writing so this didn’t put me off at all. I realise “casual” readers may not enjoy this as much, but I know the majority of my blog followers are avid readers (I mean, if you’re not it’s a bit strange that you’ve chosen to follow a BOOK blog, right?).
This was written with beautiful language which emanated throughout and really made me want to re-think how I write my letters. I did start to wonder about the reliability of the narrator though, as the letters imply that there is more than meets the eye. I wondered if the story was written by another perspective or even in 3rd person, would it have been a completely different narrative? I find this sort of thing intriguing and would be interested in some form of follow up but in a different perspective (weird analogy to use, but basically like when Twilight was changed to be written in Edward’s perspective in Midnight Sun…sorry…). Either way, I do often wonder about these things with book written in first person but this one in particular has piqued my “difference of opinion” interest.
I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys an unusual take on narrative, an interest for how language can be both poetic and emotive without the use of actual poetry, anyone who loves an unreliable narrator (believe me, loads of stories have this – my favourite novel of all time has this), and people who like to think about what they are reading rather than using a book as a means of switching off.
