Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Present day. Ruby Summers has lived an extraordinary life. Now, at ninety-six years old and living in a quiet countryside retirement home, Ruby may be an elderly lady, but her memory remains perfect.
She remembers the summer in rural Norfolk eighty years ago when she fell in love with Edmondo, and the stolen moments spent in the orchard dreaming of their future. But tears fill her green eyes when she also remembers the September morning they embraced as they listened to war being declared on the wireless. As her village turned against Edmondo and his Italian family, Ruby knew she would be forced to make an impossible choice – one that would lead to a betrayal her heart never recovered from, and an earth-shattering secret she has never shared…
But when lonely Ruby decides to take part in a letter-writing scheme for the elderly, and single mother Cassie replies, she realises this could be her chance. Her last chance. By revisiting her past, can she finally share the secret that has haunted her for all these years? And will her unexpected connection with Cassie unearth truths even Ruby never knew were hidden – or will it tear both their lives apart?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Letters to a Stranger to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Letters to a Stranger by Sarah Mitchell is set during the early years of World War Two and the outbreak of the modern day pandemic which we recently slowly emerged from. The entire story is told through texts, emails, letters and diary entries and yes this is a bit disconcerting at first but once the story finds its rhythm you tend to forget about the brief texts etc and just get on with reading the story. At times reading of Cassie in the present day, I found myself flying through her sections because of the briefness of some of messages and I don’t think I always took in all of the necessary information because I was reading too quickly. I find paragraphs of pure narration or conversations between characters require more concentration and I retain much more information so that’s why I think I preferred Ruby’s story to Cassie’s as it’s told in the form of diary entries. Yet the loss, turmoil, danger, suffering and in a way suffocation felt by both women as they share their stories was definitely felt by this reader.
March 2020 and Cassie has disobeyed all the rules and fled London with her young son Noah. She has left Stuart her partner behind as he can continue to work as a dentist when the vast majority of society has shut down to due to Covid. Instantly, I wanted to know why didn’t she stay where she was given the rules were not to travel? Her reasons soon become apparent and I could understand her actions. She arrives at a caravan park in Norfolk close to the sea. There are no other residents and she has kept the prearranged booking for a holiday from farmer Austin. She extends her stay and as time passes both herself and Noah despite some hostilities from locals start to feel at home and more settled and comfortable despite the pandemic and its impact growing by the day.
Cassie also has to deal with the fact her neighbour and best friend, Mandy, is no longer talking to her and again I had endless questions running through my head as to what could be the cause of this? Cassie communicates with Austin through letters, texts and emails and although they never see each other for the vast majority of the story a friendship is built up. We learn a lot about Austin living on his own on a farm and a bond is formed between himself and Cassie. She starts to feel as if life in London had never happened and you can see her reluctantly communicating with Stuart only when she must. It was interesting to read of the dynamics of their relationship and how it ebbed, flowed and altered over the course of the pandemic. When Noah’s school organises a letter writing initiative to alleviate loneliness during lockdown he is matched with Ruby Summers age 96 and although Noah is in the wrong year group and too young for the project Cassie decides to keep up the communication and the pair write to each other becoming ‘Dear New Best Friends’. So begins the revealing of an incredible story.
From this point on the story moves back and forth quite seamlessly between the past and present and my attention was fully caught by Ruby’s story. Through Ruby’s diary entries we learn that she lives in Ipswich and the threat of war is looming. She is stepping out with an Italian boy named Edmondo Brambilla whose family have lived in the area for years and have served their community well through their shop. There is no doubt about it the pair have an intense love for each other but it is about to be severely tested. As war breaks out and the consensus is that Mussolini will join Hitler’s side the Brambilla family come under attack and Ruby too receives warnings to keep away from them. How can a family who have nothing to do with Mussolini or don’t back his beliefs go from valued members of society to aliens who are deemed worthy of being locked up and entered?
Ruby’s loyalties are severely tested. She is confused about what is unfolding but knows that she loves Edmondo. How can he and his family be treated as a friends one day and enemies the next? Ruby comes under pressure from her family and one person in particular. She is tasked with something impossible and unjust which goes against everything she believes in and stands for. You could feel the weight of her burden as her diary entries progressed. When the consequences of the war hit far too close to home for herself and her family she is faced with the ultimate decision. One which cannot be made lightly but instead needs careful consideration and thought. For whatever she decides will devastate people and have such disastrous and overwhelming consequences and all because of the madness human beings inflict on each other. As for what Ruby decides you will have to read to discover the answers for yourself? Suffice to say she was a brave young girl put in a tough and distressing position.
If I’d known the format of the book prior to reading I don’t know would have I chosen to read to it as I didn’t think the letters, texts etc could sustain an entire novel especially without any specific face to face communication/conversation or entire chapters told through just narrative. But I suppose it does reflect how people had to live and exist during the pandemic and during the war years also. Although a book which stirs memories of those awful days of chaos, fear and uncertainty and really the sheer at times laughable rules enforced upon us in the not so recent past did I really want to go back to that time? Especially when it’s only in the last 6 to 9 months or so that life has returned to some form of normality.
I felt it was brave of the author to tackle the subject of the pandemic given how fresh it is in our minds and when we just want to forget about those times and try and move forward. These were my initial thoughts as I read through the first few chapters but it was only around the halfway point that I thought yes the format of the book does work and it did sustain itself for the entire way through until the end which came with twists and turns I hadn’t seen coming from a mile away. I liked the comparison and contrast between what Cassie was experiencing in the present day and what Ruby was going through during the early days of the war. It reminded us that those who have gone before us suffered too although to a much greater extent than we had to and that amidst the bad and difficult times hope and happiness in whatever form be it big or small can be found.
I enjoyed Letters to a Stranger and to be honest it was Ruby’s story which really held my interest throughout. She is faced with a very challenging and emotional decision and whatever she decides there are long lasting consequences for all involved. She really battled with everything she was going through and faced such emotional inner turmoil, upheaval and instability. Love, betrayal, treachery, loyalty and devotion are all themes explored throughout this engaging and engrossing story. Although, I did question did the twist come completely out of nowhere and was it just that bit too far fetched? I understand some sort of link had to become apparent but I felt like I had missed out on some clues and it felt a bit like it was put there simply to bind the strands together almost as if it was a lastminute decision and for me just a bit too random.
Or else am I just that little bit bitter that I didn’t see it coming and in fact it’s sheer genius. To be honest, I’m torn as to what I think. I would have liked a little bit more development of the revelation and the ending was rather abrupt. I was at the 93% mark and thought I had a nice little bit to go to wrap things up and with a turn of the page that was it. I was left wanting that little bit more. Even an epilogue but it wasn’t too be. Saying all that I definitely would recommend this book, its different from what’s out there at the moment in the historical fiction genre and it’s a dual timeline story done in a refreshing way once you settle into the format. After a slow start it really does pick up and it is a different and innovative read.
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