What I Learned - The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre
A really different read - an author is dying and has months to tell the most important story she's ever told. Not only a beautiful insight into the art of story telling, but a heart-achingly gut-wrenching story of family life and what happens when it breaks.
What I Learned:
This is one of the best descriptions of first love I have ever read, really hits the mark - and to be totally honest, made me a little bit nostalgic for this feeling, rather than the sense of impending doom relationships bring to me now!
I think this is especially true when you consistently lie to yourself...you lose sight of what the reality really is.
Love this quote, and I would like to believe that this is what all great story-tellers feel, and that it is this quality that sets them apart from the mediocre.
#relationship goals!!! How amazing would it be to find that person that loves your quirks!
That special person exists - but you have to be willing to let them in, and that is super scary!
Again, just a completely accurate description of that feeling where your head tells you one thing, and you know that it's right, but the entire fibre of your being is telling you another. Sometimes it's really hard to have the courage to follow that feeling and do what you know is right, but even then which is right, your head or your heart?
Write your "Happily Ever After" moments down. I guarantee if you stop and think about it you will have a few. Try and learn to recognise them when you are in the moment...that feeling of "if this all ended now it would be ok, it would be the perfect ending". Regardless of what comes next, these moments are precious. Write them on pieces of paper and keep them in a jar, and on those challenging days read them back, remember how those moments felt and trust that there are more to come.
So accurate. You only truly find out how strong you can be when you have to be, and have no other choice.
Again, I think this is what separates the really great story-tellers from the mediocre ones - having the courage to explore all the ideas and let go of the ones that aren't working.
A really, really poignant description of loss. I guess those windows of time are what really keep us going.
We all need these interludes in our lives, and should make a conscious effort to go out and make them happen...in fact I am going after this this weekend.
This quote makes my stomach turn every time I read it. I guess from reading my book reviews little snippets of my life are coming out, and I lived in a horrible marriage, and this just really resonates with me. It's that feeling of "how could I have been so oblivious for so long?", and I guess you just feel like an idiot for believing, and for buying into it, and for being so blind I guess. Does this go back to believing what we want to believe and seeing what we want to see? I try to tell myself now that it's more about the fact that you want to see the good in people, and take them at face value, and I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. I just think now that sometimes people see this quality and take full advantage of it, and does that not make them the one's you should feel sorry for?
Relatable! I think my mum would probably agree with this too!
This, for me, really sums up what family should always be about. Whether that family are your blood relations, or those really special friends you keep close, your "tribe" I suppose, it doesn't matter, but this is how it should always be.
The Ghostwriter by Alessandra TorreMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Completely brutal, utterly devastating and will stay with me for a long, long time.
This story grips for the very first paragraph to the very last and is unputdownable, and the devastation just keeps coming. You know there has been a tragedy very early on in the book, and the pacey story telling really keeps you involved. Helena has clearly been through the mill, and to top it all is now dying, but this lets her tell her story in a very raw and real way. The characters are utter perfection, their histories and interactions told with a really authentic tone. The last few chapters of this book literally had me weeping buckets, and a conclusion you will not see coming. Move this to the top of your must read list now.
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Happy Reading!
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