I recently finished reading You Let Me Go by Eliza Graham and am still thinking about the characters and setting. Beloved grandmother Rozenn passes away quietly and while knowing that she is leaving a will that she could not explain to her two precious granddaughters. Rozenn leaves her beautiful home on the Helord estuary in Cornwall to Gwen and it appears nothing is left to Morane. Why would their grandmother, who clearly adored them both, drive this wedge between them?
"It's not the first time Rozenn has torn her family apart. Something heavy and round presses into her palm. The silver compass. Her guide through the next leg of her voyage? A mist lowers over her eyes. For the last time she looks out of the window at the water - green, grey and blue all at once, glittering in the sunlight."
The story begins with Rozenn quietly passing in her home Vue Claire. Then the story line alternates between Morane's life in the present and Rozenn's life in the 1940s. Both voices are strong and take us into their world.
Morane struggles mightily with her current situation - a broken relationship, starting over, and trying to salvage her business. Her career. Then adding to that the heartbreak of her grandmother's passing with all the second-guessing that might come from being left out of a will. Morane tries her best to be strong and to accept her grandmother's wishes. But it weighs on her and she wants to understand what caused her grandmother to make this decision.
Rozenn's story starts in Paris with her parents, brother, and eventually her twin sister joins the family. Her father is a doctor and they live in financial comfort and privilege.
"Maman was in the salon with a magazine, distracting herself with photographs of clothes, one of many Parisiennes trying to persuade themselves that early June in Paris was just as it had always been."
Paris was occupied by Germany at that time and things were changing for everyone. Resources were becoming scarce. Young men were forced into labor and Jewish families were taken away. Rozenn's family relocates to Brittany, trying to hide her brother Yann from the Germans.
I LOVED this story. The stress of the occupation, the sadness of a grandmother's passing, and the difficulties caused by family secrets were present but somehow lightened by the descriptions of the settings and the love family members had for one another. Sometimes dual storylines can become confusing. But in this case Ms. Graham pulled me in to each setting so completely that I swore I could smell the water and hear the waves crashing in that coastal village. And feel the peaceful setting of Vu Claire - designed by an adult Rozenn.
FYI for Book Lovers - Readers Coffeehouse on Facebook
I had won this book during one of the Great Big Giveaways at Readers Coffeehouse. Readers Coffeehouse is a Facebook group page for people who love reading. The page organizers enforce a "positive" atmosphere where readers are encourage to share what they currently are reading or recommend. Negative reviews are highly discouraged (frankly, I don't see that they are allowed at all).
Some authors choose to give copies of their books away on this page. However, once a year there is an enormous book giveaway. For the day, authors make a post about their book and members leave a comment. The winner for each book is chosen from the comments. Hundreds of books are given away in this manner. It is in this way that I won a copy of You Let Me Go by Eliza Graham.
If you use Facebook and would enjoy an upbeat place to see what others are reading, I encourage you to check out Readers Coffeehouse.
