Madame Burova is the fourth book by best selling author Ruth Hogan. Known as the Queen of Up-Lit, Madam Burova will not disappoint readers looking for a uplifting book. While this is not a genre I would normally read, I did enjoy this book, and although some aspects of the plot are a little twee, I always smiled and laughed as the various characters overcame their relevant adversities, and the bad guys got their comeuppance.
We initially meet Madame Burova (Imelda) as she has decided to retire from her fortune teller’s booth on Brighton Promenade. She had been “Tarot reader, palmist, clairvoyant and keeper of secrets” since she took over from her Romany mother in 1972. Before she can put her old life behind her though, she has a promise to fulfil; over the years she has kept many secrets for her customers, and now she has to deliver two envelopes which contain the answer to one of those secrets.
Here we meet Billie, a woman whose life is currently in turmoil. Not only is she is recently divorced, but also devastated by the death of her father, and a letter he left for her revealing that she was adopted by her ‘parents’ after being abandoned by her birth mother. It is at this point that the two women meet as the secret that Imelda has been keeping, is the one that Billie wants the answer to.
Imelda’s life, and the eventual discovery of Billie’s parentage, is told via alternating chapters between present day and flashbacks to 1972, primarily in Larkin’s Holiday Camp where most of the characters work. The scenes set in 1972 were particularly enjoyable for those who remember them, as Ruth Hogan’s descriptions are really quite evocative of that time.
There are a lot of characters in the book, many of them a little eccentric, including: Imelda; MI5 Clive; and Henry the pianist, but they are all quite charming and you root for them to win their own personal battles. The bad characters in the book are rather cliched and two dimensional, but this does not detract from the enjoyment when they get their just deserts.
This is ultimately a light, but enjoyable read. The reader, and Billie, is kept waiting until the end of the book for the big reveal on who her birth parents actually are, but there is no real tension to the wait. There are many serious issues covered in the book such as bereavement, sexual harassment, racism and animal cruelty, but all these issues are quickly resolved without any real drama. Nevertheless, if these plotlines make even one reader reconsider their actions or opinions, then it is worthwhile.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, the characters are appealing, the secret of Billie’s birth parents is intriguing, and it really is an uplifting read, with a happy and satisfying outcome.
We initially meet Madame Burova (Imelda) as she has decided to retire from her fortune teller’s booth on Brighton Promenade. She had been “Tarot reader, palmist, clairvoyant and keeper of secrets” since she took over from her Romany mother in 1972. Before she can put her old life behind her though, she has a promise to fulfil; over the years she has kept many secrets for her customers, and now she has to deliver two envelopes which contain the answer to one of those secrets.
Here we meet Billie, a woman whose life is currently in turmoil. Not only is she is recently divorced, but also devastated by the death of her father, and a letter he left for her revealing that she was adopted by her ‘parents’ after being abandoned by her birth mother. It is at this point that the two women meet as the secret that Imelda has been keeping, is the one that Billie wants the answer to.
Imelda’s life, and the eventual discovery of Billie’s parentage, is told via alternating chapters between present day and flashbacks to 1972, primarily in Larkin’s Holiday Camp where most of the characters work. The scenes set in 1972 were particularly enjoyable for those who remember them, as Ruth Hogan’s descriptions are really quite evocative of that time.
There are a lot of characters in the book, many of them a little eccentric, including: Imelda; MI5 Clive; and Henry the pianist, but they are all quite charming and you root for them to win their own personal battles. The bad characters in the book are rather cliched and two dimensional, but this does not detract from the enjoyment when they get their just deserts.
This is ultimately a light, but enjoyable read. The reader, and Billie, is kept waiting until the end of the book for the big reveal on who her birth parents actually are, but there is no real tension to the wait. There are many serious issues covered in the book such as bereavement, sexual harassment, racism and animal cruelty, but all these issues are quickly resolved without any real drama. Nevertheless, if these plotlines make even one reader reconsider their actions or opinions, then it is worthwhile.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, the characters are appealing, the secret of Billie’s birth parents is intriguing, and it really is an uplifting read, with a happy and satisfying outcome.