Ruth Hogan, bestselling author of “The Keeper of Lost Things” is the Queen of up-lit fiction and her latest novel “Madam Burova” is no exception. I have adored Ruth’s previous books and couldn’t wait to read this one. The intriguing premise, like no other I’ve read before, had me chomping at the bit to get started and with a tarot reader with a name like Imelda Burova, you just know she will be a character with character!
Madame Imelda Burova - tarot reader, palmist and clairvoyant is retiring and leaving her booth after fifty years on Brighton’ seafront. She has spent a lifetime keeping people’s secrets and her silence has come at a price. Imelda is weary of other people’s lives, she needs some peace and a life for herself. But before that, she has to fulfil a promise she made a long time ago. Meanwhile in London, Billie has lost her job, her marriage and her parents are now both dead but she has suddenly discovered something that puts her identity in doubt. To follow the trail of clues, it may just take her to Madame Burova’s door and a remarkable past world that features the lives of many a wonderful and unique character.
Set intermittently between two timelines, now and early 1970’s, where life in Brighton was full of holiday camps and seaside entertainers. You truly enter a world that transports you to an authentic happy place of time in the UK but which sadly also features a cultural, social and political society filled with racism and work place sexual harassment. Ruth Hogan conveyed these subjects with empathy and an obvious first hand knowledge.
This novel is pure perfection and as like her other books, had me choked many a time with emotion. Incredibly atmospheric, I saw myself walking along the promenade enjoying the sights and sounds of Brighton’s eclectic lifestyle. Pure beauty and tremendous storytelling.
I was saddened to learn that the author’s parents both died whilst she was completing this book and the emotions she surely experienced must have made it difficult to finish it but she did and wow! What another beautifully written, utterly exquisite tale with many memorable characters that stay with you forever.
5 stars for a wholly original “Madame Burova”.
Madame Imelda Burova - tarot reader, palmist and clairvoyant is retiring and leaving her booth after fifty years on Brighton’ seafront. She has spent a lifetime keeping people’s secrets and her silence has come at a price. Imelda is weary of other people’s lives, she needs some peace and a life for herself. But before that, she has to fulfil a promise she made a long time ago. Meanwhile in London, Billie has lost her job, her marriage and her parents are now both dead but she has suddenly discovered something that puts her identity in doubt. To follow the trail of clues, it may just take her to Madame Burova’s door and a remarkable past world that features the lives of many a wonderful and unique character.
Set intermittently between two timelines, now and early 1970’s, where life in Brighton was full of holiday camps and seaside entertainers. You truly enter a world that transports you to an authentic happy place of time in the UK but which sadly also features a cultural, social and political society filled with racism and work place sexual harassment. Ruth Hogan conveyed these subjects with empathy and an obvious first hand knowledge.
This novel is pure perfection and as like her other books, had me choked many a time with emotion. Incredibly atmospheric, I saw myself walking along the promenade enjoying the sights and sounds of Brighton’s eclectic lifestyle. Pure beauty and tremendous storytelling.
I was saddened to learn that the author’s parents both died whilst she was completing this book and the emotions she surely experienced must have made it difficult to finish it but she did and wow! What another beautifully written, utterly exquisite tale with many memorable characters that stay with you forever.
5 stars for a wholly original “Madame Burova”.