To say that this is the story of a young woman who sees people's future written on their skin is a gross oversimplification of this novel. This is the story of mothers and sons, and fathers and sons. It is a book about memory, love, and so much more.

In 2016, I was lucky enough to be a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela with my grandfather, and it was a delight to find that Saint James and the pilgrimage to the site where his relics washed up was a lovely surprise. I've also been working at an archives for the last two years, and so the research happening within these pages at the French National Archives, makes it seem like this novel was meant for me to read, at this time and no earlier.

This is a quiet, and gorgeous novel, where connections get missed, but where second chances might be possible.

I was fascinated by the premise of this debut novel, where a young Lithuanian woman named Magdalena is trying to escape an unusual gift/curse. She can see words written on people’s skin – banal details or profound warnings – and she moves to a country where she can’t speak the language to get some respite from the onslaught of information. As she slowly learns English, she stops wearing her glasses in an attempt to avoid the words on faces and resorts to stumbling around short-sightedly rather than seeing clearly.

I expected the novel to follow Magdalena exclusively, but her story is mixed with two others – Neil, a history student who has Magdalena’s name written under his eye; and his father Richard, who is haunted by a memory of his mother visiting him as a child, even though all the biographers of the now famous writer and beauty say she abandoned him as a baby refusing to ever look at him. The linkages between their lives are developed as the book progresses.

I’ll be honest, I never much cared for Richard, and his passages dragged the novel down for me. Even though he had a better storyline than Neil, he was such a needy drip that I couldn’t warm to him or care about the ‘mystery’ of his mother. I would have liked to have spent more time with Magdalena; her beautiful tragic friend Lena; her mother and her grandmother and left the boys out of it. There is some great writing here, but there is also a lot of meandering and loose ends. It is worth reading, but I can’t say that I was wholly satisfied. That said – the premise was intriguing, the parts I enjoyed were excellent, poignant and haunting. I will be keeping an eye on what this author produces next.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This is truly a breathtakingly beautiful book. Even thinking of it now, I get goosebumps. There aren't many novel I slow to read because I don't want it to end; this was one of those books.
A rich family saga with magical elements, the interwoven relationships of the characters are so layered and true, it really did take my breath away. This book has everything: mystery, romance, realisation of the self, heartbreak, redemption. It's a glorious read. I miss Magdalena in particular already. She is written so honestly, she could walk off the page.
I cannot thank you enough for this joyful read and cannot wait recommend to purchase copies for the library service. My only gripe is the cover, as it feels marketed for YAD readers and I strongly feel this would appeal to adults across the spectrum.

Indelible, Adelia Saunders

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  General fiction

I really wanted to like this book, it sounded so deliciously different, and reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Hunter’s Irin chronicles with the skin marking references, though of course instead of a few people having visible marking to others, only Magdalena sees what’s marked, no-one else.

Once I started reading though..well, I just felt it was a disjointed rambling tale. Nothing seemed to really relate to anything else, we seemed to veer from one persons POV to the next, and I just felt lost, didn’t understand what was the point of what we were told. It felt like a story that led nowhere. 

The three main characters had a very tenuous connection, and I felt them to be kind of flat, I didn’t understand them, didn’t like them and just wasn’t interested in their spry or what would happen to them.
I started flipping through at about 30% hoping it would get more interesting, looking for something that would hook me in to the story. I didn’t find it and DNF the novel. There’s too many books I will like to waste time on one I know I’m not going to.

For me it was a story that had so much fantastical potential but which turned out very different to what I expected from the description. I can see though that many others love it, clearly it resonated with many people but for me its just a fail.

Stars: two, just one of those I didn’t like, didn’t understand but others love. Che sera...

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers