The Last Letter from Your Lover, by Jojo Moyes
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, 8th July 2010 (first published 10th January 2008)
Genres: Historical fiction, romance
Format: Hardback
Source: Borrowed (library)
Synopsis
When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in hospital in 1960, she does not remember anything. Not the terrible car accident that put her in hospital. Not her husband or her friends, nor even who she is. Discharged and returned home, Jennifer feels like a stranger in her own life, and certainly in her marriage bed. By chance, she comes across a hand-written letter urging her to leave her husband and run away. The letter is signed simply “B”.
In 2003, journalist Ellie comes across the same letter in her newspaper’s archive. She is determined to track down the people in this letter and find out their story. Her career is floundering and she hopes this feature will set it straight again. But the letter has connected with her on a personal level as well. Maybe in finding these lovers from long ago and unearthing their story, she will be able to make sense of her confused love-life as well.
My thoughts
What a lovely book! I love Jojo Moyes’ writing and this is another great success. Once again, her characters are beautifully written and I was very quickly engrossed and invested in their lives and loves.
I absolutely love a book that includes letters, or other forms of writing, in the text. And this one does that and more! The hand-written letters are scattered throughout the text, as are the text messages and emails that Ellie exchanges with her boyfriend. I really enjoyed the contrast between these two forms of communication.
This was further highlighted by the chapter separations. Except for one, which is an excerpt from one of the letters from the plot, these are all real communications between people, at the end of their relationships. These really illustrated how differently we talk to one another now, especially about such things as love.
Another beautiful book from Jojo Moyes. If you love her writing, you will not be disappointed. I found that there is a recent film adaptation of this book, which I am looking forward to watching soon.
My rating: 4/5