As retired physician
Lettie Louw looks back upon her life, she recounts her coming of age in
WWII-era South Africa in this compelling story of delayed love, loss,
and reconciliation.
Lettie Louw is the daughter of the town
physician in their South African village. She spends her childhood in
the warm African days playing with her friends and being adored by her
doting parents. When she becomes a teenager, she experiences her first
taste of unrequited romantic love in the form of her best friend’s older
brother, De Wet Fourie. When De Wet pursues the beautiful and wealthy
Annabelle, Lettie’s dreams are crushed, and she moves to Johannesburg to
pursue her studies in medicine.
Life in Johannesburg feels
strange to Lettie, and the world around her is in profound upheaval as
the Second World War rages. Her feelings for De Wet never waver, and
Lettie is heartbroken when he marries another of her childhood friends.
Lettie soon meets Marco Romanelli, an Italian immigrant, and they marry
and raise two daughters, as the racial and political tensions in South
Africa swirl about them.
Lettie never forgets her first love, even
as the ravages of time, war, and illness play upon her life and the
lives of those she loves. In their later years, Lettie and De Wet are
thrown into one another’s company again, and they are given another
chance at a life together. @goodreads
I didn't get into this book as much as I thought I would but it was still a good book.
This is the story of Lettie and her life through the years. She was really down on herself when she was younger. She didn't think she was as good as everyone else. She also had a crush on a boy named De Wet but it never goes anywhere. He eventually marries one of her friends.
Later on, Lettie becomes a doctor and eventually leads her to meet Marco.
This whole story is about love and loss. Friends over the span of years. Unexpected beginnings and endings.
I loved how the end of the book came all the way back around to something very sweet and I think they needed that in this book.
Happy Reading.
Mel
*Thank you to BookLookBloggers for a print copy of this book.*
Wonderful review, Mel! xo
ReplyDeleteThank you so much =) xo
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