Friday, July 22, 2011

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

When journalist Ellie looks through her newspaper's archives for a story, she doesn't think she'll find anything of interest. Instead she discovers a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband - and Ellie is caught up in the intrigue of a past love affair. Despite, or perhaps because of her own romantic entanglements with a married man.
In 1960, Jennifer wakes up in hospital after a car accident. She can't remember anything - her husband, her friends, who she used to be. And then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for.
Ellie and Jennifer's stories of passion, adultery and loss are wound together in this richly emotive novel - interspersed with real 'last letters'.

I am not one for love stories, romance or any other kind of mushy topic, in books, T.V. or movies. I find them corny and pathetic. I bought this because I thought it had a really cool title and sounded pretty interesting. I was amazed by how much I loved this book. It almost made me cry, and that is a feat in itself. I was up late many a night reading it trying to find out what was going to happen to Jennifer and her ill fated love affair with Anthony. If I could ever have a love of my life, I would want it to be like theirs. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is because in the beginning, you stay in the 1960's, but it flashes back and forth from before Jennifer's accident and after, and it took me about 75 pages to realize that is what was happening. Be prepared to be swept away in their beautiful and heartbreaking story.

4 stars (I wish it was 5!)

1 comment:

UK said...

I have been striking out a lot lately with my book selections. I am a serious person who prefers historical fiction. I like learning about other countries and their history and customs. A love story is never really my thing. I am not sure what lured me to this book, but I was skeptical. I just assumed it would be ok or awful. Well, I was quite wrong. This is a beautiful book filled with so many emotions, twists, and unexpected turns. It does shed light on how women were viewed in the very early 60's and touches a bit of the politics of the Congo. But this was truly a love story - a real story.