Thursday 4 June 2015

Return to Fourwinds - Elizabeth Gifford

At Fourwinds they gather: Alice and Ralph, Patricia and Peter, to celebrate the marriage of their children. The marquee is on the lawn, breathing in and out in the summer heat. But the bride is nowhere to be seen.

As both families are drawn together, the past floods through the corridors of the old house. What secret has Ralph been keeping from his wife? What is it about Alice's wartime encounter with Peter that has haunted her ever since? And what could have caused Sarah to vanish without a word to any of the people she loves?

Moving from the orange groves of Valencia and the spacious houses of the British countryside to the post-war slums in the north, Return to Fourwinds is a sweeping, lyrical story of the things we tell and the things we keep to ourselves. Is Sarah's disappearance a culmination of the pressures that have kept the two families apart? Or can they work together to bring her back to Fourwinds? 

My thoughts:
As for big secrets, yeah, I would not say they were big. People were just stupid. Everything had to be perfect, to look perfect, and if something was the slightest off, not good. They came from that era so it was understandable.

The book starts with Nicky and Sarah about to get married. She runs away and we go back in time.

Alice who grew up privileged, but not privileged enough for some so she strive for perfection.

Ralph her husband grew up in Spain. His story is the one of his mother and her new husband and the secrets there.

Then we have Patricia and Peter. Patricia does not really have a secret, and neither does Peter. But Peter grew up in the slums and wanted to make something for himself. He also knows Alice from the war. Ok so that secret was not really something she should feel bad about.

Their life before the war, and during the war, and after it. Lives were shaped. But I must say, Sarah's choice had nothing to do with those secrets. I'd rather have it as an aftermath of all of that. She still had a secret and I will say nothing more than I totally understood why she ran.

I liked what we later learned about Spain, now there was a book. I also liked the social clashes. Rich and poor. Newly rich. They all looked down on someone else.

Conclusion:
An interesting book

Cover
Ok

Paperback, 368 pages
Published June 4th 2015 by Corvus
Historical fiction
For review

24 comments:

  1. Sounds like it was worth reading!

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  2. Sounds good, and i love that tree lined lane on the cover :)

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  3. I wouldn't mind living in a gorgeous house like that with trees lining my driveway. *dreams of it*

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  4. Well I am disappointed that the secrets weren't bombshells.

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  5. Lovely cover ! Have a happy Friday!

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  6. A Lifetime of Secrets and then no secrets?! Talk about false advertising.

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  7. Sounds good even if the secrets weren't earth-shattering.

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  8. I love social clashes too! That's one of the things that I love in historical romances. It's funny sometimes.

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  9. Replies
    1. ONly 6 workdays left before vacay! I have a Loooooong vacay cos we are still contract less so I just said f it

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  10. Sounds interesting! And I want that house on the cover!!

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  11. Sounds pretty good, but not like it rocked your world or anything like that :) I kind of like the cover - it looks kind of sad, like the place would poet might choose to write in for a while. Lol - it's too hot & maybe-affecting my brain :D Enjoy your weekend, Linda!

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    Replies
    1. Rocked my world, nah, not many manage that :)

      You are dark today. But then one of the men in this novel is a poet, so that is his dark place then

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  12. And where is MY comment? lol xD Maybe I posted on mine? IDK. I swore I posted on this. Meeeeeh

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