What a book! What a surprise! This book was recommended to me from a lady in my book club. So I begun reading the book and at first was appalled. I am an avid reader, and I pretty much inhale books. So I despise anything that slows down my reading, such as lack of proper punctuation (Tim Winton), short sentences, odd formats – such as letters. However I persevered with this novel, and by the time I was 1/3 of the way through the book I was in love with it and didn’t want it to finish!!
This book very neatly pieces together a story of a small Island off England and the experiences people had during WWII. But do not fret, this is not a war novel. It merely discusses how a group of people were able to meet under the guise of a book club. It discusses their lives now, as well as the hunt for Elizabeth, who is still missing (the book is set in 1946 – just after the war ends).
Through the letters, you begin to fall in love with the characters of this town as well as the town itself. I enjoyed the writing, especially the way I was able to discover events before they occurred, ie before the author explicitly revealed them. I would also be incredibly keen to read a sequel, however I do not believe that will be possible as the creator Mary passed away. The book is credited with two authors as her niece completed the writing.
An absolutely charming book, I give it 5 stars.