As a child of the seventies this was quite a nostalgic read for me. Loved the way the characters were depicted and the social references, good and bad, I thought were spot on.
I liked the back and forth between 1973 and now, I felt Ruth handled this very well, same characters, very different times, socially, and this really stood out through her writing. You got a real sense through her characters of how times have, thankfully, changed and moved on.
Much like The Keeper of Lost Things, this is a real feel good book, whilst it has its gritty issues, they’re dealt with sympathetically but also with an edge of realism.
This is very much one of those happy/sad/happy type of books and whilst I liked all her characters, Madame Burova (Imelda) was definitely my favourite, I like her strength of character and sense of integrity, we all need a Madame Burova in our lives.
I liked the back and forth between 1973 and now, I felt Ruth handled this very well, same characters, very different times, socially, and this really stood out through her writing. You got a real sense through her characters of how times have, thankfully, changed and moved on.
Much like The Keeper of Lost Things, this is a real feel good book, whilst it has its gritty issues, they’re dealt with sympathetically but also with an edge of realism.
This is very much one of those happy/sad/happy type of books and whilst I liked all her characters, Madame Burova (Imelda) was definitely my favourite, I like her strength of character and sense of integrity, we all need a Madame Burova in our lives.