By: Norma Curtis
Heidi (Hedi) Fischer is a WWII camp survivor, mother of one daughter, grandmother of one granddaughter and she just said goodbye to the love of her life, her husband Harry. She hasn’t seen her daughter in many years due to a fallout they had and therefore, hasn’t seen her granddaughter since she was a toddler. At 90 years old, her plan now is just to die.
Thea is her granddaughter who has never really settled into any one job, one place, one relationship and is on the move again when she comes apon a small home by a small lake needing some love and attention. She decides to rent it out for the summer. Then she gets a call from her mother saying her grandfather has just died and would she attend the funeral. Maggie, her mother, lives far away and due to her broken relationship with her parents doesn’t want to attend. Thea agrees.
Thea meets up with Hedi at the funeral and they share lunch afterwards. The plan is for Thea to return to her life while Hedi goes home to die. Hedi’s spiteful neighbor has been watching Hedi get rid of everything in her home. Her husband’s books, furniture, clothing, everything is gone and, after a confrontation with Hedi, she calls social services on her. Social services calls Thea to come and look after her grandmother after which Thea decides to bring Hedi to the summer home she’s renting.
Hedi decides to confide in her granddaughter all that she never told her mother about her life at the camps, how she met her husband and the promises they made to each other never to talk about what they both went through. A bond forms between the two women and by the end of the story, Thea realizes what a treasure Hedi is and nothing like her mother described.
I really liked this story. Hedi is a fiery woman full of flaws, regrets and imperfections. She’s also full of a lot of love. As her story unravels, I really loved how we get to see the contradiction between her and Harry; Hedi is strong and fierce and very much an in-your-face type of person while Harry is quiet, gentle and very forgiving. Same with Thea and Maggie. While Maggie very much a supporting character, she’s very quick-tempered, bold and outspoken, like her mom. Thea is gentle, kind and forbearing.
Here’s what really worked for me:
- Character development – There is a nice character development in this story. I would imagine it would be hard to do this with a 90 year old character since most people are set in their ways however, Norma Curtis handles this with ease in the character of Hedi.
- The setting was lovely – Set in England just outside of London, the house feels like every summer home I’ve ever wanted to visit, up to and including the outhouse. (Although, if I’m being honest, I’m an indoor plumbing girl all the way.)
3. The relationships – The relationship between Thea and Hedi is so moving. It made me wish to talk to my grandmother again.
Here’s what didn’t work for me –
- Maggie – I’m not really sure what she was so upset about. Either I missed it or it wasn’t written well enough. But I really didn’t like her at all. She was too cold. Too much without heart. Her anger, or whatever it was, felt forced.
- The ending – It was beautiful but again, the character of Maggie was really hard to believe. First she hated her mother so much that she thought her dead and, in one short conversation, she’s all over it!
- The relationship between Maggie and Thea – First, I was curious as to why first names were used and not titles. For example, Thea called Maggie “Maggie” and not “Mom”. But I really couldn’t understand why their relationship was strained.
Overall, this is a lovely story. I loved Hedi over and over and wished for her to be my grandmother so many times. Then I wished for my own grandmother and wished I could introduce her to my girls.
NOTE – Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
My rating: :star: :star: :star: :star:
Faith Love n Joy 