the second book I read this weekend is entitled 'The Very Thought of You' by Rosie Alison. It is about a young girl who is evacuated from London during the second world war. She goes to live in Yorkshire at a huge old house which is turned into a school by the owners; a couple who are not in love with one another, are childless and the husband suffered Polio so is in a wheelchair. The central theme of the book is love, in all its forms, real and imagined, as experienced through the main characters and Anna, the child in the story. I did not find the book convincing, nor of an emotional depth that moved me to tears or laughter, but there was just one page that did touch me, and this is what I will remember the book for:
" Of all the many people we meet in a lifetime, it is strange that so many of us find ourselves in thrall to one particular person. Once that face is seen, an involuntary heartache sets in for which there is no cure. All the wonder of the world finds shape in that one person and thereafter there is no reprieve, because this kind of love does not end, or not until death.
For the lucky ones, this love is reciprocated. But for so many others, everywhere, anywhere, there follows an unending ache of longing without relief. Incurable love is a great leveller. Yet I believe that this bittersweet love is better by far than the despair which blights those with a dead heart."
Sue xx
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