Pages

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Hello, Agnieszka by E Journey : A Review

Book Details:
Name: Hello, Agnieszka
Series: Between Two Worlds
Paperback: 282 pages
Publisher: Sojourner Books (May 6, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0996247424
ISBN-13: 978-0996247429
Book Description:
          A raw tale of early love, rivalry and betrayal. Her oldest son’s suicide attempt shocks the Halversons and forces Agnieszka to reveal a past she has kept from her children.
          Passion for music. Hearing her talented, irrepressible grandaunt Jola, a concert pianist in Poland, give a piano recital, young Agnieszka discovers a passion for music. Jola hones her talent and feeds her dreams.
          Shattered dreams. Real-world problems, thorny relations with a mother tied to her roots and betrayal by Jola shatter her dreams.
          A 70s love story. Agnieszka falls in love, but fate deals her first love a death blow. She rises from the losses she has suffered and gets a second chance at happiness.
          A mother’s youthful dreams thwarted and renewed, amidst the exciting promise of the 70s.
BOOK REVIEW:
          A good blurb, a story about music (and its healing powers) and a poignant tale of young love (unsuccessful, but still) are part of a winning combo that would surely make any book a bestseller. Hello, Agnieszka! Is a tale of all this put together. Having already read book one,(Hello, my Love!) this one was satisfactory to all my expectations from the author.
          The story starts with a tragic note and goes down the memory lane to bring back things that are hidden in the deepest, darkest corner of one’s mind only to be perused in the twilight of poignant recollections. Not going much into the actual story, it is everything the summary promises it is.
          A daughter’s troubled relationship with her mother and the pain of scandal, betrayal and the true loss of one’s first love are portrayed in the author’s usual beautiful style. While the story itself is set in the 70s, the connection would be better to understand if the books of the series are read in the order they have been published. (Some might disagree and call this a prequel, and even others might call this a standalone, though both may be true, my personal opinion is that this book is best read second in the series).
          The language is good (only a few typos and phrasing errors). But when a story is too emotional, and there are deep thoughts shared, the language breaks slink away unnoticed. Bittersweet tales are difficult to carry off. There can never be enough justification to satisfy the behaviour of every character (from the aunt to the mother to the main character) but basically, this story is a deep analysis on the strong bonds of human relations.
          Maybe because I am still thinking about book 1, or maybe because I am still wondering about Elise and Greg, this story gets second place in my most favourite book of the series list.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

          EJourney is a realist who thinks she has little imagination. Credit that to her training (Ph. D., University of Illinois) and work in mental health, writing for academics and bureaucrats.

          A well-traveled flâneuse--a female observer-wanderer--she watches, observes, listens. And writes. A sucker for happy endings and an admirer of Jane Austen's novel of manners approach to women's fiction, she finds enough that depresses her about real life, but seeks no catharsis by writing about it. For her, writing is escape, entertainment.
Her author website: Evy Writes at http://www.evyjourney.com
Her book blog:Escape Into Reality at http://www.margaretofthenorth.wordpress.com
Her blog on art, food, travel (mostly Paris), and state of being: Journey on a Limb at http://eveonalimb.com.
PRICE: $2.80 for kindle, $11.50 for Paperback


No comments:

Post a Comment

Not a SPAM comment! :)