This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
Roberta loves her job in the Old and New Bookshop, her favourite part is when she discovers old letters and postcards in the books donated. These give her a glimpse into other people lives, however when her father hands in some of her grandmother’s belongings it is her own history that she uncovers.
Dorothy is unhappily married to Albert who is away at war. However when Squadron Leader Jan Pietrykowski literally crashes into her life, she starts to believe that she may be happy after all. However one shocking turn of events alters Dorothy’s life completely and her future happiness is put in jeopardy.
Roberta delves deeper into her family’s past, but perhaps some secrets should remain buried.
This book is based on a real suitcase and a real letter that the author found whilst working in a second hand book shop. It is a great concept for a book and as it opens with an intriguing letter from the past I wanted to read on.
Roberta lives a humdrum life but at work she delights in finding other people’s forgotten correspondence in second hand books. However she gets more than she bargains for when her father bequeaths her grandmother’s suitcase to the shop. A major branch of Roberta’s family tree has just been broken off and Roberta is the only member of her family that even realises.
I do usually enjoy historical novels where the past and present are intrinsically linked, but in this case I just did not connect with the characters. I was as bored with Roberta’s life as she was and even on discovering an intriguing letter, she did very little with it and really any extra information she gleaned seemed to just fall in her lap. Also at the end of the day this new information about her grandparents seemed to have barely any effect on Roberta and as such by the end of the book I was left thinking what was the point.
I also did not warm to Dorothy, as she expected nothing from her life right from the start and this carried on through to adulthood. Her story was interesting but hardly shocking and the whole thing just plodded along to the end.
I think if the story had remained rooted in the past I would have found it more readable, but I felt that Roberta’s life was neither better or worse off knowing her grandmother’s hidden secret.
4/10
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