A Lovesome Thing : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: And it will make a great film
Review: Lotte's love: a spinning bottle. But where will it rest? If this were the sole engagement, then the resolution here, alone, would be intriguing, imaginative. But there is much more, and I can only recommend reading this book. Get an insight into working obsessively, from someone who has clearly observed it. Rises and falls, equally well displayed. Plenty of great observation, and then there is the central artery, running splendidly through the whole like a seaside town through rock. The star is old, and has had countless makeovers, but remains irresistible to the cast of the novel (almost without exception) and to the reader. She is, of course, a lovesome thing.

Rating:
Summary: fine contemporary tale
Review: Middle-aged Sam Warren leaves his fortyish wife Lotte and their three children for a younger babe. Instead of crying at her loss, Lotte makes a major career move; she ends her work as an architect to study horticulture.

Not long after she qualifies as a horticulturist, wealthy Irish business mogul Brody Keegan hires Lotte to work at his fifteenth century estate, Maddon Park. Lotte and her three kids relocate there so that she can restore the place to its former splendor based on an old map. Originally only interested in the fame the property provides him, the married Brody soon finds Lotte's élan for life and the past hooks him. Lotte reciprocates though a college archivist likes her too. When Brody's empire collapses he heads to the states while the English Lotte continues to make Maddon park a place worth seeing.

Though there is little in the way of major conflict or action, A LOVESOME THING is a fine contemporary tale that emphasizes the importance of enjoying what you do as life is too short otherwise. The story line contains a delightful cast, but clearly the tale belongs to the heroine. Besides the support cast motivated by Lotte's gusto, readers also will feel the spell of her upbeat look at the world especially her beautiful way of seeing the old country house and the gardens.

Harriet Klausner