If you’re looking for one book to bring to the beach this summer, a book that will entertain you and touch your heart, a book that is deeper than chick-lit but just as addictive, Ghostwritten is for you. The novel begins with a Prologue from 1987 where a tragic accident occurs on a family vacation. This Prologue that will leave you with goosebumps and sets the tone for the entire novel. Of course there are elements of love and tender, honest moments that will leave both happy and sad tears running down your face.
Jenni is ‘ghost’ writing the lives of other people. It’s a job that suits her well – still haunted by a childhood tragedy, she finds it easier to take refuge in the memories of others than to dwell on her own. Klara was a child in the Second World War, interned in a camp on Java during the Japanese occupation. She has never spoken of her experiences there, but as she turns eighty, she knows that the time has come to share her extraordinary story of survival. As Jenni helps Klara to shed light on her childhood, and a neglected part of world history, she is forced to explore her own past, too. Can Jenni and Klara help each other to lay the ghosts of their pasts to rest?
Isabel Wolff writes a wonderful fictional account of Klara’s life, intertwining her pain with that of Jenni’s. Wolff has a way of making the two stories become one, proving that no matter how tough life gets you are not alone. If you just open up and let go of your demons you can live a better life. Ghostwritten is as compelling as it is simple but that is the beauty of it. With characters so well-rounded, a plot that constantly twits, and historical relevance that will have you running to Google, Ghostwritten is the perfect beach read — if you don’t mind tearing up in public.
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