Louise Walters

CR Library recommendation. Enjoyed very much.KIRKUS REVIEWLetters and postcards once used as bookmarks flutter out of used books, forgotten signs of liaisons.Roberta treasures books so much that she pines away in her beloved job at Old and New Bookshop, watching Philip, her boss and the man she can?t yet admit to herself that she loves, take the beautiful Jenna as his lover. But secrets begin to spill out of the books¥secrets that will change her understanding of the past and hopes for the future. One fateful day, Roberta?s father, John, brings in an old suitcase labeled ?Mrs. D. Sinclair,? filled with her grandmother Dorothea Pietrykowski?s old books. Between the pages, Roberta discovers a letter dated Feb. 8, 1941, signed by her grandfather Jan Pietrykowski, warning Dorothea that what she is about to do will dishonor her, imperil her very soul, and wrong some unnamed mother and child. If only Roberta could ask her grandmother or her father about the letter, but at 109, Dorothea has entered hospice care, and John?s health is failing, as well. Meanwhile, Jenna confesses to a bewildered Roberta that she's pregnant with a child fathered by her ex-boyfriend. Walters? debut novel nimbly weaves together Roberta?s and Dorothea?s storiesÂ¥the reader almost expects to pull a shadowy missive from its spine. Roberta?s life is a mess; she stifles her feelings for Philip, twisting her desires into a sad affair with a married man. But Dorothea?s story is the stuff of films: disowned, disappointed in marriage, crushed by multiple miscarriagesÂ¥Dorothea rises above it all to manage her own farmhouse, to take into her home two young women, part of the Women?s Land Army, and to find new love with Jan, the dashing Polish Squadron Leader.A breathtaking, beautifully crafted tale of loves that survive secrets.… (más)

The Hermit is Louise Walters' fourth work of fiction, this one being a novella at 146 pages. Despite its brevity, it is not lacking in content or depth, far from it. The hermit of the title is Theo, an old man living in a hut by the side of a row of three cottages, two of which are used as holiday lets. Sylvia and her daughter, Antonia, come to stay in one of them, with Sylvia's estranged mother living in one of the others and managing the lets. Set over the course of seven days, it is Sylvia's attempt to see if the relationship is worth rescuing, and her daughter's first meeting with her grandmother.

I thought the setting of the holiday cottages was inspired, the impermanence of it for Sylvia against the constancy of it for her mother immediately puts her on a back foot. Dealing with a teenage daughter's moods and the other slightly peculiar guests in the cottages doesn't help an already fraught situation. I didn't really take to the characters but some of the reasons for their behaviour unfolded as the week went on and it highlighted the complexity of family relationships and the generational impact they can have.

The writing put me very much in mind of the writing of Sarah Moss: an observational manner, damaged and unlikeable characters, and set over the course of a few days, giving an intensity to the story which doesn't let up. It kept my attention, and had I not had to sleep I could have read it easily in one session. The threads of this story that go back years are pulled taut in The Hermit which showcases Walters' unique style and writing ability. This work of accessible literary fiction comes recommended by me.… (más)

I picked this book because of the book shop, the WWII story. The summary had a cute premise, but the truth is that I have a little trouble with plots that go back and forth. The back cover made me believe that the story is in letter form; even though it had letters between Dorothy and Jan, I could understand who was narrating Dorothy's part of the story.
Also, Roberta, the main character, is a weird character, and I felt her story was all over the place.
Finding memorabilia in a second-hand books store is a fun idea, but it didn't give me any input on the story. I am happy that I borrowed this book from the library.
For me, it was a 2.5-stars book.… (más)