2025~9. The Lost Letters of Aisling

Cynthia Ellingsen. 2024.

I typically love the coming together of dual timelines into one coherent story, where the historical backstory fills in at the same time as the modern tale, particularly in the context of an intergenerational mystery that unfolds in interesting ways.  I also typically love a good WWII historical fiction, although the genre might be a bit trite at this point. 

​And there was a lot to like here as an American granddaughter takes her dying grandmother back to her hometown in Ireland.  The sweetness of their relationship, the thrill of the grandmother's secret life before immigrating and the sorrow of loss and hurts that transcend time.  I didn't not like it, but I also did not love it as I found some of the pieces of the story beyond credulity.  I was disappointed at how obvious some of the pieces were and how the loose ends that could have stayed loose were times up while other holes were left gaping unnecessarily.  I particularly found the ending to be a disappointment since I have never been a fan of the SPOILER ALERT BELOW...




"they live happily ever after" in a totally impractical and likely to lead to divorce or heartbreak when they come to their senses kind of way.


END SPOILER ALERT.

Not not recommended.
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