Scan barcode
A review by littlesparrowreads
Messy, Wonderful Us by Catherine Isaac
5.0
This book was an unexpected delight.
I loved how we were tipped into Allie's narrative right from the off, with her discovering a piece of family history that flips her world upside down. The two plots; that of Allie's heritage and her long-term best friend's fractured relationship with his wife, are woven together with a finely tuned notion of pace and tension.
The Italian setting is particularly stunning and I found it refreshing to read about a place so often romanticised to the point of it not seeming real. Catherine Isaac immerses us in Italy and what it's like to navigate as an outsider, especially when you're not there for a holiday. I found Allie a very relatable character and her relationship with her best friend from school was entirely believable, un-clichéd, and grippingly emotive.
This book also covers some important themes, such as the less talked about side of domestic abuse, the nature of families, and the idea that what's right and true doesn't always play out as it should.
It was very cold when I read this book, but Isaac's writing warmed me right up from the inside out.
I loved how we were tipped into Allie's narrative right from the off, with her discovering a piece of family history that flips her world upside down. The two plots; that of Allie's heritage and her long-term best friend's fractured relationship with his wife, are woven together with a finely tuned notion of pace and tension.
The Italian setting is particularly stunning and I found it refreshing to read about a place so often romanticised to the point of it not seeming real. Catherine Isaac immerses us in Italy and what it's like to navigate as an outsider, especially when you're not there for a holiday. I found Allie a very relatable character and her relationship with her best friend from school was entirely believable, un-clichéd, and grippingly emotive.
This book also covers some important themes, such as the less talked about side of domestic abuse, the nature of families, and the idea that what's right and true doesn't always play out as it should.
It was very cold when I read this book, but Isaac's writing warmed me right up from the inside out.