Stephanie KeatingReseñas

Busily involved as we are in moving house, moving countries (France to UK), this book, billed as a 'perfect holiday read' seemed a nice, non-demanding choice. A father's will reveals to his children that they have a previously unknown half-sister in France. The half-sister, Solange is equally shocked by this knowledge. So far so good. But soon we get to hear the father's history and that of his friends, all Resistance workers, as the book switches between 1970s Ireland and France and war-torn France. German-occupied Paris, and the effects on the survivors of their concentration camp experiences are all brought vividly to life, and all at once the story became a gripping one. The characters themselves are not so rounded and believable: it was easy to guess very early on for instance, how the story would end for Solange: but I knew neither her nor her Irish half-sister at all by the time the book ended. It's worth reading though, as an account of the dismal events of the Second World War as far as Paris was concerned. It added to my understanding of the period.

An enjoyable book set in the late 50's through the early 60's about three school friends and their lives in mainly in Kenya, but also Ireland and London. I read it as a friend (Mary Smith) had given it a good review. The first in the Langani trilogy, I will look for the other two books.

Wat een prachtig verhaal over liefde, trouw, ontrouw, lijden en verdriet en alles wat daar tussen in zit. Het verhaal speelt zich af in 1970 in Parijs, Dublin, Genève en de Languedoc en in de Tweede wereldoorlog, op ongeveer de zelfde plekken. Het laat zien hoe ingewikkeld relaties in elkaar kunnen zetten en dat mensen op de meest aparte manieren toch verbonden kunnen zijn. Verder kan ik er niet veel over zeggen zonder te spoileren.½

Blood Sisters is the first book in the Langani Trilogy. It begins in 1957 and continues into 1966. Three girls meet in a Kenyan boarding school and become inseparable. Hannah is the daughter an Afrikaner farmer, Sarah the daughter of a family that lives on the southern tip of Kenya near the Indian Ocean, and Camilla the daughter of a British diplomat and his socialite wife living in Nairobi.

The transition of Kenya to independence (1963) from Britain is a large part of the plot. The authors, sisters who grew up in Kenya during this period, don't shy away from the turbulence of those years. Each of the girls suffers through family crises, heartbreak and personal doubt as they mature, but they arrive at the end of the book stronger than ever.

It's been a long time since I've read a saga of this type and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though almost 600 pages it held my attention until the end and I've already got the second in the trilogy in my bookcase.

In Borrowed Light by Barbara and Stephanie Keating is the final book in the Langari Farm trilogy about three women who grew up together in Kenya and are bound together by friendship. Although they all went separate ways in adulthood, they keep in touch and are always ready to come to each other’s aid.

This final book finally finds all three women back living in Kenya. Each one goes through a personal crisis and comes out all the stronger. Their loyalty to each other is tested by loss and betrayal but their enduring friendship sees them through the most difficult hardships.

Although this book started slowly and took a long time to develop the actual plot, I enjoyed this final volume and was happy to get closure on all the various storylines. The writing can be a little clichéd but the authors have the ability to draw their readers into the story and involve them in the drama. There is a definite need to read these books in order as both character development and story is drawn out over the three books.

The second book in the Langani Farm trilogy, A Durable Fire picks up pretty much right where the last book left off. The three main characters are still dealing with the tragedy that occurred in the first book. What they also soon find out is that it isn’t over, someone is still trying to destroy their lives at Langani.

As Hannah and Lars struggle on at the farm, Sara is living in the bush, involved with the study of elephants while Camilla abandons her fashion career in London to come home and set up as fashion designer with her workshop at Langani Farm. But the secret overshadowing Langani needs to be addressed and with the help of an Indian journalist, the three young women uncover the truth behind the attacks. Along the way romances are developed and lost and the three close friends must fight for their friendship.

Once again, I enjoyed this epic saga about the three girlhood friends, their joys and sorrows, set against the backdrop of Kenya’s early years of independence. The authors, Stephanie and Barbara Keating grew up in Kenya and are painting a vivid picture of that country. A Durable Fire brings the story up to the 1970’s and there is one more volume to the trilogy.

Blood Sisters was written by sister authors, Barbara and Stephanie Keating. It is a thick, juicy family saga of almost 600 pages, and this is just the first book in a trilogy. The story is essentially of three girls who meet at school in Kenya and become blood sisters. These girls and their assorted brothers and friends are followed from the ages of 14 through to 21 in this first book. Sarah goes to college in Ireland and becomes a wildlife conversationalist and photographer, she has been in love with Hannah’s brother, Piet since she was a child, but Piet seems to be taken with someone else. Troubled Camilla is in London trying to become an actress but when she fails to get into drama school she becomes a model instead. When Kenya gained it’s independence in 1963 Hannah and her parents move to Rhodesia but before long she returns to the family farm in Kenya to help her brother who is struggling to keep the place going.

This book delivers a heady mix of romance, betrayals, murder and revenge and I was totally pulled into the story. From the swinging London of the sixties to the emerging African country of Kenya with it’s difficulties and danger there was plenty of action. As the story evolves we follow the girls lives through their various reunions, separations, heartaches and happiness.

Blood Sisters ends when the girls are still very young women with plenty of life ahead of them. Luckily I have the next two books in the trilogy on my shelf and I will be picking up the second volume soon as I was thoroughly entertained by this first volume.

An interesting story of human relationships set in the context of Kenyan independence.

To My Daughter In France. With these words added to his will, Richard Kirwan revealed to his both his family in Ireland and to a young woman in France that there had been a huge secret in his life, one that he waited until his death to expose. I admit I didn’t have very high expectations for this book and perhaps that is why I did enjoy it so much. Crammed with characters who revolve around each other, jumping back and forth in time from the 1940’s to 1970, the reader is soon caught up in this tragic love story, with all it’s implications.

The parts of the book that depicted Paris during the German occupation and the resistance movement, made for some tense and exciting reading. When the book moved ahead to 1970, there were various settings from Dublin to Paris, as well as my favorite setting in the southern French wine country of Languedoc-Roussillon.

To My Daughter in France by Barbara and Stephanie Keating was a sprawling family epic full of secrets and sacrifice, there were parts that I admit were a little overdone, but for me, at this time, the book worked. This is the type of book that is often described as a ’beach read’, one that is big, full of passion and intrigue, has a gripping story and is overall a thumping good read.

Een aanrader: een man komt te overlijden en uit zijn testament blijkt dat hij nog een dochter heeft waarvan niemand op de hoogte is. Dit brengt natuurlijk heel wat te weeg binnen de familie.

aardig boek, ik houd van boeken die ik Frankrijk/Spanje spelen (sfeer)

Bei der Testamentseröffnung von Richard Kirwan erfahren seine drei Kinder, dass sie eine Halbschwester, Solange, in Frankreich haben. Schockiert und verletzt, reagieren sie abweisend auf diese schwerwiegende Neuigkeit. Doch dann entschließt sich Eleanor, die Älteste, dazu, mit der unbekannten Schwester Kontakt aufzunehmen...