linda l.

A Story to Savor

Revisado: 07-06-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

i am not usually a fan of love stories so what a wonderful surprise this book was for me. It's no simple love story. It's a saga,--love,history,family.happy times,turbulent times. From the very beginning I was enveloped in the life of the Isaacson family living in New York's Lower East Side in the 1920s and I never wanted to escape.
The writing has been called lyrical and poetic and I can't think of a better way to describe it. Suddenly, I am there, the sights, sounds,smells all resonate with me, the conversations intrigue me ,I want to hear more. I wouldn't have had thought I would be so fascinated by this time or place, but , suddenly ,I am. because almost every sentence is telling me its own story.
And, I meet the amazing Rachel whose mother describes her as her "youngest daughter with the oldest soul" and I am immediately in love with her. She is brave, intuitive, emotional, sometimes funny and always interesting. Despite the restrictions placd n women at that time and despite living with a controlling, strict Orthodox father, Rachel is independent, unrepentant and determined to follow her own path in life.
We are lucky enough to follow that path-- her childhood exploration of New York, walking miles to see the Atlantic Ocean, her first kiss, her steps into womanhood. There are mistakes along the way. Desperate to escape her stifling life with her father, she marries an abusive con man, a decision that will haunt her for years to come. The marriage begins with a solo,lonely honeymoon at Niagara
Falls and is folliwed by years of abuse, violence and unhappiness. The saving grace is the birth of her son Daniel, the love of her life.
There is a sense of mysticism in Rachel's life too. She has "visions," hears her dead grandmother telling her stories , sometimes goes into a trance-- things that make some people call her a witch.
But, this is all woven so seamlessly into the story that it not only doesn't overpower it, instead it feels like a natural part of the story.
Later in the book, we meet the charming and charismatic Ciaran liiving on the small island of Rathlin, off the coast of Northern Ireland. Although a farmer by trade, Ciaran's life is much fuller than that.
He's a fiddle player, a story -teller, a cliff climber-- a man fully in tune with the land and sea around him, He is in "no hurry to get married" and lives happily with his loving mother and her companion, Bertie who is like a father to him.
As we were immersed in the sights and sounds of Rachel's life in New York, the same happens to us in Ireland. We climb the cliffs with Ciaran, listen to the music, hear the conversations with the islanders. And, as with Rachel, there's a sense of mysticism in Ciaran's life too. lrish legends and stories passed down for generations, full of tales of the land and the sea, selkies, mermaids.
But, it is a turbulent time in Ireland; the war for independence has changed the lives of people on the island. And, like Rachel, Ciaran makes a poor decision, puts himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and it's a decision that could have devastating consequences on his life.
He leaves Ireland and thus begins the the journey of the melding of tknowhe lives of Ciaran and Rachel. It is a long journey too, laden with obstacles,surprises and some missed opportunities . But whether or not you believe in destiny, it is a journey you don't want to miss.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña