reviewed on recorded bookshow by Ro Bennett (aired March 2013)
Book
description:
The compelling
story of two women, born four centuries apart, and the ancestral legacy that
binds them.
Ella Turner does
her best to fit into the small, close-knit community of Lisle-sur-Tarn. She even
changes her name back to Tournier, and knocks the rust off her high school
French. But it is all in vain. Isolated and lonely, she is drawn to investigate
her Tournier ancestry, which leads to her encounter with the town’s wolfish
librarian.
Isabelle du
Moulin, known as La Rousse due to her fiery red hair, is tormented and shunned
in the village – suspected of witchcraft and reviled for her association with
the Virgin Mary. Falling pregnant, she is forced to marry into the ruling
family: the Tourniers. Tormentor becomes husband, and a shocking fate awaits
her.
Plagued by the
colour blue, Ella is haunted by parallels with the past, and by her recurring
dream. Then one morning she wakes up to discover that her hair is turning
inexplicably red…
On the whole I
enjoyed the book and found it a page turner. It was informative with its
geographical and historical descriptions which would have been enhanced with a
map. It fluctuates between the story of Isabelle in the 1500s and present day
Ella, her descendent. I found that interesting, and liked how their lives were
interwoven as Ella explored and uncovered her family origins. However there
were parts which I found implausible. I could empathise and identify with
Isabella but wasn’t drawn to Ella, she appeared neurotic and self obsessed and
she irritated me - I felt sorry for her husband. However the anticlimactic
ending was my main problem, the unanswered questions, loose ends and unmade
decisions left me feeling up in the air and disgruntled.
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