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The author writes about the love story of three women that is spell-bounding. Each word in the book seems carefully sculpted into its place, to form this beautiful story. Ute does not tell us a story; rather she paints a picture in our mind with her words.
The book is split into three parts; the Lilac Hour, Love letters and The Road Not Taken. The Lilac Hour is the story of an eighty year old Sara, whose husband, Zeke, had passed away a few years after their marriage. Yet her love for him was still ever so bright, just as it had been when he had been alive.
Love Letters is on Maggie, Sara’s daughter, whose life has turned into a mundane routine after forty years of marriage. But when she discovers the stack of old love letters her husband had once written to her, she wishes to regain the lost passion back in their lives.
Lastly, The Road not taken is about JoAnne, Sara’s granddaughter. JoAnne meets her ex-lover in a time when her life is rife with marital struggles. She takes a look into her past and wonders if she did marry the right man.
Even for a short story, the characters come across as complex individuals with suffering, self doubts and problems like any normal human. The writing is compelling; nowhere had the story seemed incomplete, given the size of the book, and as I said before, Ute’s description makes the town and the characters come to life in the readers mind.
My favorite part of the book was the endings of each of the women’s tales. They were sensible, sweet and heart wrenching at the same time. Those were the bits where you cry. This book is probably one of my favourite romance novellas henceforth. I could honestly not find any flaws despite rereading the whole thing.
I'd rate this book with a 4 out of 4 stars and cannot recommend it enough to just about anyone wanting a short and sweet read.
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