I laughed, I cried, I fell in love. Really enjoyed this and struggled to put it down. Will recommend to everybody

Oh my goodness, what a book. Wonderfully drawn characters who give insight into very different lives. Beautifully written, emotional book- not one I would describe as an easy read but definitely a must read! Joanna Glen is an accomplished wordsmith and her use of language is clever , emotional and to be admired.
Augusta is a twin, who has a fascination for words, and etymology and is the complete opposite of her beautiful twin sister Julia. Parfait is from Burundi, Augustas favourite country and so begins a fascinating relationship......
I didn't find this an easy read, but it was a very fascinating tale cleverly told and would urge readers to persevere!

Oh, this is a hard review to write!

On the one hand, it's beautifully written, with the beloved words and language of the protagonist, Augusta, used brilliantly both when she speaks and when her spiritual 'other half', Parfait, speaks. Locations are beautifully drawn and a sense of how it feels to be there seeps from the pages.

On the other, the sense of melancholy that pervades their story never lifts. There's no up and down of light and shade, just a consistent veil of doom drawn across everything. I think that this is because it's all written in the past tense, looking back at events. So the fun and joy there was to be found in any memory is instantly overshadowed by the knowledge that bad things are coming.

Augusta is a tricky character to like, and i am shallow enough to need to like people i am committing my time to read about. She's snobbish, condescending and dismissive, yet shows little shame for this - acknowledging her faults without attempt to make more effort. She may have been born that way, but I do wish the author had shown us more of her ups and made less of her downs. A more rounded person might have elicited more sympathy, or indeed empathy. She's the sort of person who sucks the energy from a room, not the sort of person you want to hug better. Just because a story is filled with sadness, it doesn't make it a literary classic.

Parfait however, I did like. His tragedies were fierce and real; death and destruction don't put out his inner light. He's a good man, doing his best in a bad world. It is Parfait who lifts this novel away from a litany of whinge to something more inspiring,

I suspect my review will run against the trend here, but i didn't love it, and won't rave about it.

It's difficult to believe that this book is a debut novel. Joanna Glen writes beautifully and from the heart and on several occasions, I found my self fighting back tears. (more about that later.)

Augusta is the second-born twin. Her sister Julia was born on the last day of July and Augusta the first day of August, hence their names. Julia is beautiful and her mother's favorite. Augusta is cerebral, interested in words, reading the dictionary to learn word origins. Augusta is fascinated with other countries and dreams of Burundi.

When Parfait enters the story, it's a bit confusing. He is part of a large family in Burundi during the political unrest and the tribal horrors between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Assassinations, massacres, starvation, rapes, all impact Parfait, making him dream of taking his family across Africa by foot and then crossing to Spain over what looks to him like a narrow sea.

The narrative moves back and forth between Augusta and Parfait. He is very close to his family. she is not fond of her parents. She is fond of her next door neighbors and their "spastic" son, Graham. Her father is annoyed that she pays attention to the special needs boy. He's annoyed about a lot of things. Julia loves and eventually marries Diego, another neighbor whose family has a home in Spain.

The novel is literary and filled with poetry and quotations for Lorca. You will discover the joys of etymology and flamenco, sometimes at the same time.


Hide Spoiler here: Julia commits suicide after the stillbirth of her daughter. She throws herself in front of a train. Augusta, only half of a twin now, cannot cry. I must say here that I lost a daughter in a train accident and this portion was heart-rending for me to read...but very real.

There is much here that defies coincidence, but still results in a believable and affecting book.

What a brilliant, brave, clever book. This is one story that deserves to be savoured and admired.. A wonderful, fragile interweaving of stories and lives that makes the reader question, think and marvel at the skill of the writer. Fabulous. Just wonderful. Highly recommended.