Author::Hannah Fielding

Publisher: London Wall Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-916489-51-6

I have read all of Hannah Fielding’s books except her first. This one is far and away the best of them all, in its sheer attention to detail. The experience of reading it was very, very convincing. I was immersed in the ambience invoked by the reading of the book for a few days afterwards. Despite the fact that the basic plot is unvarying in Hannah Fielding’s romantic novels, this one has a greater depth to it, exhibiting a wider understanding of the vulnerability of  two souls that are bonded to each other in the ties of true love. The text is also very readable, evocative of the love exchange between Jane Eyre and Mr.Rochester in the famous novel by Charlotte Bronte.

The storyline proceeds as follows.

The protagonist,Catriona Drouot,is a successive professional who works as a musical therapist in Nice. As a young girl of eighteen, she had had a one night stand with a well known musician called Umberto, who was also the son of a famous opera singer called Calandra. It was an evening when Catriona  had won a singing competition at which Umberto was also present as one of the judges. She had met him earlier as he was a neighbour whose piano playing had appealed to her musical instincts.

The sexual encounter was short-lived as Umberto gets an invitation to promote his music in the USA for which he was to leave immediately. As this does not leave them much time to further explore their future together, the two of them went separate ways. A son called Michael was born of that union. Umberto was not informed of this.

Catriona learns that opera singing was not her forte, so she changes directions and becomes a music therapist. In this endeavour, she achieves a fair amount of success. It is in that capacity that Umberto’s mother Calandra asks her for help in rehabilitating Umberto. This was about a decade of no interaction between the lovers.

That which happens next is what this book is all about.

This book is a great read.The strength of the writing lies in its poignancy, a second by second documentation of all important moments and interactions, including sexual interactions. The fact that all the protagonists are quite rich people with sizeable properties also adds to the reading experience. Yet, despite all the negativity generated by circumstances in the narrative, the feeling that emerges after reading this book, is a reaffirmation of the universal adage, “Love conquers all”.

It is in the skillful description of the way true love expresses itself in a difficult situation as the one mentioned above, that defines the real strength of this narrative.

Finally,a great novel to read on a lazy summer afternoon with a glass of red wine on hand.

Warmly recommended.