Ratings6
Average rating4
4.5 stars rounded off to 5.
This is such a lovely story about two people writing letters to each other, becoming friends and each other's confidants. It is so hard to have such a close relationship like this with anyone, let alone over letters. This story made me happy and made me cheer for both the characters
I really enjoyed this book, although it is not in the genres I typically gravitate toward. Reading the letters felt slightly voyeuristic, but I thought it worked fantastically as a device for telling the story.
What I liked about this book is that it got me thinking. About slowing down and enjoying the life that is here. About noticing small pleasures. About living life with intention rather than being a slave to what life chooses for one. It reminded me of friends and letters i once wrote and the unique friendships that have their own shape because of it. It also challenged me to think about how to respond with love and respect when others go in a direction that seems wrong to me.
I can't explain why I was drawn into this book, but I would recommend it to someone who is interested in people and relationships—though not necessarily romantic relationships.
Tina Hopgood mails off a letter to the Silkeborg Museum, not expecting a reply. Professor Anders Larsen responds to the letter, not expecting anything further.
But Tina does reply and Anders replies to that reply, and so on, and so on, and as time passes and the letters fly back and forth, Tina and Anders are given a venue to think out their lives, the past and the present as well as the future.
This is a gentle story of the powerful effects of friendship.
To quote another reviewer of this book, Adriana Trigiana, “This is a work of art, dear readers. Revel in its beauty.” I could not say it better, and feel exactly the same. The writing is beautiful and pure and the story is one that should resonate with anyone of middle age. Through correspondence two people who have never met reveal themselves to one another, form a deep connection, and speak simple truths. Truly a delight.