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Cargando... A Heart to Mendpor Myne Whitman
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. 3.5 stars. How many of us have visited Lagos, Nigeria? I had no clue that it was a city of about 15 million people - bigger than Los Angeles. A Heart To Mend is worth reading if for nothing else than for the details of what life is like in such a world, like how the buses don’t run on a particular schedule, but when they are full, move on to the next stop. Learning that many in Nigeria speak Igbo and English at home, while in Lagos, people speak Yoruba and English. The characters themselves had depth and backstory, to both justify their attraction, and to create reasons it was hard for them to commit as a couple. That said, this story was not without problems. Gladys, 26, and Edward, mid-30s, meet in Chapter 1. Then there’s a long interlude filled with financial and stock trading minutiae which bogs the romance down until the characters reconnect in Chapter 5. There were a fair number of formatting issues in the e-version I read: indents that didn’t belong, spacing issues. It was sometimes hard to tell from whose POV the story was being told. In the end, do we “buy” that the couple belongs together? Yes. Do we accept the problems that kept them apart? For me, it’s a no. I wanted to, but it was a “hard sell” for me. It’s about 100 times better than my first novel would have been, released with minor or no edits, but it is clearly a first novel. I look forward to other offerings from this author. Esta reseña ha sido escrita para Sorteo de miembros LibraryThing. I found this book to be a faily interesting read. I was intrigued by the insight into modern Lagos and life for a young educated woman in urban Nigeria. I did find the characters quite well depicted, and felt sympathy with them. To be honest, when the storyline spiralled off into the banking corruption and the downturn of Bestman Group I lost interest and felt like I was wading through treacle. I found myself to be waiting for the romance to return...call me shallow! I do think it was a fairly good illustration of how guarded people can be when they have been unable to develop trust in early life. But I have to say the style was somewhat stilted and the story became trite by the end. I would not seek out another book by thius author Esta reseña ha sido escrita para Sorteo de miembros LibraryThing. I really enjoyed this book. I sat up last night until my nook died and then finished it before getting my daughter up for school. There are only a handful of books that I have read written by African authors. The book was a true love story between a working class woman and a rich bachelor, who wasn't always wealthy. She teaches him to love, trust and believe in himself as well as their relationship. The book really got gritty with the "stock scheme" and was perfect timing for us [the readers] to get to know the characters. Look forward to reading the next book! Esta reseña ha sido escrita para Sorteo de miembros LibraryThing. Does your past still affect your future? There are several plots to this novel, but one main one: the divide between Gladys and Edward. Gladys's aunt cut all ties with her family for apparently no reason. The reader gets to understand Gladys's aunt via Gladys's investigating. Edward has a mysterious, closed past. The reader will get to know Edward on a friendly level and delve into his past. Gladys is a sympathetic and dynamic character; the reader will enjoy her emotions and actions, especially her dialogue. Her character pulls the whole novel together. The novel details how separation, even emotionally, from a partner can ruin the partnership if the person does not accept his partner as trustworthy. Edward's business is at risk. Will he trust Gladys? The reader will read on, avidly, to find out. The novel has a way of drawing the reader in; the book itself is very well-written and the plot works with the characters. This book is recommended for adults who enjoy books about relationships and trust.
The author immediately engages us in the first chapter by painting a vivid picture of Gladys’ feelings of apprehension on arriving in the busy, bustling city of Lagos. She also quickly sets the stage for the budding romance between Gladys and Edward. Thereafter, she gradually develops the story, and by degrees, we get to see how the relationship between the two protagonists develops. She paints a fuller picture of both characters; we get to see how driven and successful Edward is as she describes his business interests in realistic detail. But we also see conflict in Edward’s mind as he is torn between his desire for Gladys, and the mistrust of people planted in him from earlier experiences of betrayal. Gladys’ evolution from a simple girl new to the city to a young urban professional is also realistically chronicled, as is the turmoil she faces as she is uncertain of Edward’s feelings towards her. Nigerians, and indeed to a large degree Africans, are not particularly known for romance writing. The reason can be attributed to the sense of morality (real or apparent) that seeks to relegate issues of love to the secrecy of bedrooms and treats sex as something to be talked about only in hushed tones like it were some mysterious sacred ritual. We generally carry on like ‘we don’t do sex’ yet we have HIV, or ‘we don’t fall in love’ yet we have marriages. Myne Whitman’s book, “A Heart to Mend”, makes a bold statement to the contrary. It shows that not only do we fall in love and marry for love, we also use love to conquer a wide range of situations that could have ordinarily been a bit difficult to shoulder alone. Before “A Heart to Mend”, the closest the Nigerian Literary scene has felt of emotional writings were from a wide range of soft sale publications which were deficient in both craft and quality; both deficiencies that have contributed through a negative feedback to the dearth and ‘distaste’ for romance writings in Nigeria.
SHE HAS AN OPEN FUTURE Gladys moves to live with an estranged aunt in Lagos and to continue her search for a job. Before long she lands the job of her dreams with the foremost oil company in the city and makes several new friends. She also gradually resolves the mystery of why her aunt previously cut all ties with their family. But the best part about her new life is meeting Edward Bestman. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
Chat del autorMyne Whitman conversó con los miembros de LibraryThing desde las Oct 11, 2010 hasta las Oct 18, 2010. Lee el chat. Debates activosNingunoCubiertas populares
Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)306Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and InstitutionsValoraciónPromedio:
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A young girl, Gladys, leaves her hometown to live with her estranged aunt in Lagos to find a good job. Whilst trying to find her aunt’s house, a mysterious young man, Edward, in a fine car, spots her scrutinising her map and insists on driving her to her destination. Little does she know that she will bump into him again not long after this chance encounter and that their path to true romance will begin a journey along a rocky route. Although now a successful businessman, his path to success has been a hard one from harsh beginnings which have had a deep effect on his ability to trust and abandon himself to true love. Gladys is a sweet, intelligent and trusting young woman, proud of her humble background. But misunderstandings shake the foundations of their relationship and are then further muddied by Edward’s past when people he once knew set out to ruin his success.
The backdrop of this romance is the world of corporate finance; the author’s knowledge or if not personal knowledge, meticulous research, is outstanding, so outstanding in fact, that I was a little overwhelmed by the finer detail and found myself eagerly anticipating the scenes between Gladys and Edward. I loved the gentleness of their romance which develops at a respectable pace. They are both extremely likeable people and I could not put this book down as I neared the end. Will Gladys manage to overthrow the attempts of vindictive, money-grabbing businessmen, hell-bent on ruining Edward? More importantly will her love for him conquer her dismay of his mistrust of her, when he suspects she had a hand in his ruin? Will he see that she is everything that is good in a person and realise that her goodness will be the key to helping him shed the demons of his past?
I love Myne’s writing style – she is articulate and expressive. The main characters are well-developed and it’s very easy to become enamoured with Gladys and Edward. Some of the dialogue is unusual – almost as if English suddenly becomes the author’s second language, unlike the perfect narrative. I don’t know whether this was intentional or not, to authentically portray the characters in their Nigerian setting, but for me it added to the charm of this wonderful little romance. Absolutely delightful.
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