Our resident book reviewer (Angela Galvin) has just given us several book reviews, so the start the ball rolling, here is the first of them.

The Japanese Lover, By Isabel Allende – A Review

I spent a lot of my adult years not reading anything written by women because the stuff I had read lacked depth and colour – or if they had depth and colour they waffled on and lived there instead of getting on with the story. Then someone gifted me a copy of ‘A Portrait in Sepia” and my mind was changed for ever.

Keeping the descriptions of people and places tight and in small chunks then moving effortlessly through the narrative to the next snippet – so you build a complete picture over the course of the book – is Allende’s particular genius for me.

This is another wonderfully compelling story by Allende. A historical account of two families through the turbulent pre and post-World War ll years, the story of a young woman coming to terms with a dark past, three love stories and a brutal poignant account of old age.

I couldn’t put this one down and read it over two nights. The characters are contemporary and believable, the setting is beautifully described and the story is a gem. Keeping the descriptions of people and places tight and in small chunks then moving effortlessly through the narrative to the next snippet so you build a complete picture over the course of the book is Allende’s particular genius for me.

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