Lucy works
in an antiques shop where she is responsible for old books. They themselves are
already attractive but she knows how to enhance their mystery and by using her
gift of storytelling, she can make the buyers believe in long and interesting histories
of them. When her boy-friend James finds out about this and feels betrayed,
they split up. Yet, his grandmother Helen has come to like the young girl and
asks her to accompany her to Europe where she has some hidden secrets to solve
before she dies. Thus, the two very different women’s trip becomes a mixture of
classic novel stories by Austen and the Brontës mixed with their own lives’
stories.
A lovely
novel which cleverly integrates the British literature. Again and again
parallels are drawn and the 19th century entangled with our modern
world. Caught between the old and antique and at the same time everyday
problems, Katherine Reay makes her protagonists resemble those rare humans who
can indulge in the book world and create a world of their own which can provide
them with ideas for their life when returning to reality. Her language, too,
very often reminded me of the British classics why I loved reading it
especially.
