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Thursday, September 24, 2015

The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman




Set in a beautiful setting of St. Thomas in the 1800s Rachel is a different girl for her times. She is in her mother's opinion difficult, stubborn, spoilt by her father and always not wanting to conform. The family is Jewish and does not want to bring attention to themselves. Persecution is never far away and the stories reaching them are horrendous. The family are doing well and want it to continue like that. Adverse business forces Rachel's father to give her in marriage to a widower double her age with three children. The man is kind and Rachel accepts him as this is a business proposition.

Rachel however dreams of Paris and a way to go there seems to be just a dream. Having settled into family life with three children of her own, it may be that life just settles down. But, not for Rachel! the death of her husband and the appearance of the heir - a young man from France sets into motion Rachel's second life. One which is tumultuous, heart breaking and one which breaks all conventions and ostracizes not just Rachel but her entire family.

This was a family saga wonderfully told, beautifully descriptive not just of the location but also of the characters which formed the story. From Rachel's own mother and father to her husband, her friends from birth, the servants all form an integral part of the whole and all contributed to the success of this story.

The book was sent to me by Netgalley courtesy of Simon & Schuster. 

5 comments:

  1. This sounds so good; so happy I caught your review. (I've enjoyed this author in the past, but haven't read anything of hers in a while.)

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  2. My sister loved this book too but Hoffman is hit or miss for me so I'm not sure if I'll read it or not.

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  3. I had this one downloaded but then did not get it read before it archived. Now I'm even more disappointed that I didn't get to it. Guess I'll just have to pay for it!

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  4. I liked this one too although it felt a bit long to me. Have you read many Hoffman books? Which is your favorite?

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  5. Sounds good. I've been seeing this authors' books on other blogs lately. I've never read any of her books.

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