When I first bought this book, I thought it was just one of those romantic stories set in World War II. I was in for a real surprise!
Society has always been more cruel to women who philander as opposed to men - and such was the situation our protagonist, Jessica, finds herself in in 1930s Liverpool. Her mean husband throws her out of their house and takes their 2 children away from her. And worse, the man she slept with - is her mother's lover!! So her mother treats her icily after their one night stand was revealed!
Like any young mother, she almost went crazy without her kids, who were still very young, but slowly, she found her bearings with the help of her younger brother and some kind strangers.
What I love about her character is how she picked up the pieces of her shattered life. Soon, she had to leave Liverpool - since she felt like she was a pariah there - and she went to Paris. Then World War II breaks out!
Her character had to endure many challenges but what was beautiful is that she found herself, she found what her real strengths are, and really came into her own person. When before, she felt like she was just a behind the shadow of her rich and popular husband, now she really knew how to handle a household, run a business and discovered that she was really desirable after all!
While before, she used her husband as an emotional crutch - now that she was alone, she had to mature quickly and find the courage to solve the problems she was facing incessantly everyday.
The war taught her many things about loyalty, love for country, love for thy neighbor, and she really matured as a woman and as a mother.
When she returned to Liverpool after the war, she was now a totally different person than she was when she first left.
No comments:
Post a Comment