Autumn Gold by Beverley Hansford
| Autumn Gold by Beverley Hansford | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Ani Johnson
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| Summary: An autumn romance that includes some insights for those of us waiting to reach that age with moments that will resonate strongly with those of us already there. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 304 | Date: July 2013 |
| Publisher: Matador | |
| ISBN: 978-1783060702 | |
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While on holiday with her friend, Debbie soon has a different reason for remembering the Dorset beaches and countryside. On the beach she meets John who gallantly comes to her rescue. Both are widowed, in the autumn of their lives and just seem to click. The holiday romance has the potential to continue but they both have responsibilities, adult offspring and other obstacles that creep into life. Does love conquer all or is that only in story books?
Beverley Hansford the British author who started publishing his work in his later years, brings us an equally later in life romance, bringing two very strong characters to the fore.
I can imagine many senior citizens nodding in agreement with Debbie and John or recognising moments from their own lives as Beverley presents us with two fully rounded and human, human beings. Whether we like them or not depends on whether we agree with their views and actions and, in that, this novel may be fascinatingly polarising in a good way.
On one level it's a gentle romance with some twists and surprises I won't reveal. (That includes the event that's written with some dramatic licence, but it works.) We watch the couple meet and gradually fall in love against the problems we know of from friends even if we haven't experienced them ourselves.
There's the youngest daughter who has moved out but a lot of her belongings haven't. The elder daughter who has a great line in last minute babysitting requests when she's not telling Debbie that Debbie's house is too big and she should move out. There's also the lady across the road who phones from time to time for verification of her curtain-twitching observations.
Set against this genteel side there's the generational which, although I understand, makes me grateful Debbie isn't my mother. She's the type of mother for whom the love of her children converts itself into unsolicited advice and subtle expectations. Then there's the episode which leads to one of a few earthquakes in her life during which I was praying that Debbie doesn't get involved for her sake but she couldn't resist and…
My feelings about Debbie aren't criticism but an example of how accurate Debbie is as we all know people like her. In fact if I'm involved enough in a book to yell at the main characters that demonstrates the author's talent and the fact I didn't want to stop reading about them even more so. But then for every yeller like me, there's a nodder who empathises with everything Debbie does and is. In that lies the magic of this story as well as the magic of love discovered at any age.
(Thank you Matador for providing us with a copy for review.)
Further Reading: If you've enjoyed this and would like to read more of Beverley's work, try The Golden Anklet. If you'd like to move on to something different or have read it already, we also recommend The Dress Shop Of Dreams by Menna Van Praag.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Autumn Gold by Beverley Hansford at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Autumn Gold by Beverley Hansford at Amazon.com.
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