It is with a heart laden with sadness and eyes soaked in tears, I write this difficult review.
If you ever want to read a book which makes you cry – read this
If you ever want to feel deep melancholy – read this
If you ever want to feel a mother’s love – read this
If you ever want to feel sisters hate for 28 years – read this
If you ever want to see sisters bonding – read this
If you ever want to read about family and strength – read this.
A dying mother and estranged sisters due to a misunderstanding 28 years ago caused the family to break apart. A beautiful, poignant book by Hannah Beckerman, depicted the sisters, Tess and Lily, connected by grief and anger, each going through life missing the other, with the mother Audrey caught in between. Till she was diagnosed to have a few months to live and wanting her two daughters become sisters again was her only wish.
Hannah’s writing made the scenes come alive, sadness was palpable in the depth of emotions. One moment of misinterpretation by a 10 year old child caused ripples in time and behavior. The story showed the lives of all the 3 women with shuffled timelines casting glimpses like the lens of a viewfinder as they grow up, from their dreams to their realities, from their hopes to their sorrows, from their anger to their knowledge.
The last few chapters had its shocking tale to narrate, but I understood the decisions taken by them. Each was right, but they were all so wrong. This book had me crying and breaking down at many points. It was a tough read.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Orion, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!!
All my reviews can be found here
How do you read books which make you sad? How do you get over the melancholy?
Hannah Beckerman studied English at King’s College, London and for a Master’s degree at Queen Mary and Westfield, London. She spent twelve years working in television, first as a Producer for the BBC and subsequently as a Commissioning Editor for Arts and Documentaries at Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel USA. She lived in Bangladesh for two years, working for the BBC World Service Trust.
Hannah is now a full-time author and journalist. She is a book critic and features writer for the Observer, the FT Weekend Magazine and the Sunday Express and a regular chair at literary festivals and events. She has been a judge for numerous book prizes including the Costa Book Awards.
If Only I Could Tell You is Hannah’s second novel. She lives in London with her husband and daughter.
Audrey’s family has fallen apart. Her two grown-up daughters, Jess and Lily, are estranged, and her two teenage granddaughters have never been allowed to meet. A secret that echoes back thirty years has splintered the family in two, but is also the one thing keeping them connected.
As tensions reach breaking point, the irrevocable choice that one of them made all those years ago is about to surface. After years of secrets and silence, how can one broken family find their way back to each other?
Publication Date: 21st February 2019
Publisher: Orion
27 Responses
A book that brings out an emotional response is always a good one. Glad you enjoyed this one, Shalini!
Oh I did.. I cried through the book 😢 thank you ❤️ Marialyce
I love it when a book draws the emotions out of me. This sounds like a beautiful story. Great review, Shalini! Hope your conference is going well. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Thank you so much Leslie 💖😍
Such a powerful read it seems! I’m looking forward to reading this book xx
I hope you enjoy it too… Keep tissues handy
I’m not sure I can make it through a book like this right now…but amazing review. ❤❤❤
I cried through it… 😢 Very emotional read
All of the above – so surely I should read this book! Wonderful review Shalini!
Thank you… Hope you like the book too. Keep tissues handy… It has some painful arcs
Wow Shalini,even your review sounds poignant like the book does.I can tell it really had an impact on you.I love such moving stories so this one goes to my TBR.
Wow.. I hope you like the book as much as I did. But have tissues handy
I have read books that were very emotional, I just can’t remember the last one.
This one was…
I am afraid of all the feels!
Tissues.. 😢
I love when a book effects strong emotion. Great review!
This hit me quite a bit for a couple of days
Families can be so hard in real life; it is good that the author was able to depict the emotions so well. It makes me sad that it is often sickness and death that can prompt reconciliation.
Actually, it really didn’t till the mother had to force them to the truth..
Oh wow. How powerful, intimate and emotional… all that just from your review. Some books really do just reach in and touch our souls
And yes entire tissue packet was used up… Sheesh my eyes sure got a workout that day
Aww
Wonderful review, I think I need to read this one I could use a good cry from a book
I cried for 2 days… 😂
Great review!
I never heard of this book before, but it sounds really good. I’ll have to check it out, thanks for sharing your thoughts on it =).
Thank you Jodi… Keep tissues ready… It was really emotional