The Place Where Wishes Come True
A Year And A Day by Isabelle Broom is a contemporary love story set in Prague just before Christmas. The book can be read on two levels – it can be just an escapist read or delve deeper and experience true love in action.
The true love presented is very raw, very honest and very ‘real,’ It really spoke to my heart. True love is not about clasping on tightly. True love is about being open, being honest and being real.
A Year And A Day at the most basic level is the three stories of different people whose lives intertwine inspite of being total strangers. The characters are all unique. Isabelle Broom has cleverly constructed them all to bring out very different emotions in the reader. I found myself being drawn to some characters whilst mentally shunning (as the writing led me to) others. I drew my own conclusions, added two plus two and came up with five! Isabelle Broom masterfully manipulated my responses as a reader and I fell for it! She really is an amazing author.
Not only were Isabelle Broom’s characters cleverly drawn but her descriptions of Prague were delightful. She tantalised the readers taste buds with her wonderful portrayal of the city. I have never been there but I ‘felt’ I could ‘see’ the city and this was purely down to the talent of the author.
There were several themes within the novel – trust, friendship, grief, internal examination, love and many more. The novel was designed to show what makes individuals ‘tick.’ We all make surface snap judgments about people but people are more complex than what we see on the surface.
I began A Year And A Day with the expectation of a light escapist read which it was but it was also so much more. Isabelle Broom is a masterful storyteller. Her characters were woven into my heart and her words will stay with me long after the novel is ended.
A Year And A Day was my first experience of Isabelle Broom’s writings. It will not be my last. I totally loved her style of writing and her construction of plot.
A fabulous read.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
JULIA WILSON