This new novel by bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry will draw readers in and tug at their heartstrings. It is a haunting, captivating, and beautiful novel full of intrigue and meaningful nuances. Henry masterfully weaves together a story within a story and leaves readers clamoring for more details with every shift in the narrative.
The story follows two families on two different continents at two different points in time. In 1927, 8-year-old Clara Harrington’s childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, vanishes off the coast of South Carolina.
By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. She meets a stranger named Charlie Jameson who is grappling with the recent loss of a father who meant the world to him. They are drawn together in London by a puzzle neither one of them can solve on their own.
The way the details dance within this story is remarkable. Both settings come to life through the author’s vibrant and marvelous use of word pictures. The plot includes real-life events such as the Great Smog of London, and readers feel as if they are there. One can feel the denseness of the London fog physically and metaphorically.
The plot draws readers in from start to finish. This story is an intergenerational weaving of past and present, a tragedy, a heartache, a pressing on, a desire unquenched or unmet. Readers see lives intertwine; we yearn to fill in the gaps between what is known and what is yet undisclosed.
This book is not a Christian novel. It is popular fiction; the author spins a tale with a nod to a real-life occasion she once encountered. There are a couple of brief mentions of extramarital sex. The text is mostly clean; the themes are familiar: love, heritage, forgiveness, parenting, limitations, fulfillment. All of us as human beings are seeking after something; what we discover as we journey might be different from what we expect. This story reminds us that life is far more complex than most people can see or understand on the surface. (Atria Books: An imprint of Simon &Schuster)
About the Author
Amie Spriensma is an online chaplain for ReFrame Ministries and a regional disability advocate for the CRC. She lives, works, and worships in Allendale, Mich., where she is a member of Rusk CRC.