From the bestselling author of The Girl From the Train, comes another compelling coming of age story of delayed love, loss, and reconciliation in WWII-era South Africa. Lettie has always felt different from and overshadowed by the women around her- this friend is richer, that friend is more beautiful, those friends are closer. Still, she doesn’t let this hold her back. She works hard to apply her … apply her mind, trying to compensate for her perceived lack of beauty with diligent academic work and a successful career as a doctor. She learns to treasure her friendships, but she still wonders if any man will ever return her interest.
Marco’s experience in the second world war have robbed him of love and health. When winters in his native Italy prove dangerous to his health even after the war has ended, he moves to South Africa to be with his brother, husband to one of Lettie’s best friends. Marco is Lettie’s first patient, and their relationship grows as she aids him on the road back to restored health.
In the company of beloved characters from The Child of the River, Marco and Lettie find a happiness that neither of them thought possible. With that joy comes pain and loss, but Lettie learns that life–while perhaps a crooked path–is always a journey worth taking.
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I liked that the characters were real and showed many emotions.
I was absolutely thrilled to discover that The Crooked Path is a parallel companion/sequel to Child of the River. This book’s storyline intersects and entwines with it’s companion, sharing many of the main characters and following them through the decades starting a few years before WWII.
Lettie Louw is an intelligent young woman who follows in her father’s footsteps, training to be a doctor in South Africa. Lettie is a good friend, supportive, compassionate, with a strong moral compass and respect for the truth. Her first patient is Marco Romanelli, an Italian man who weathered the horrors of Concentration Camp, with compromised health and a weakened immune system.
I admired Lettie for her strengths and vulnerabilities, she captured my heart instantly as a body conscious teenager, in love with a boy who doesn’t notice her. She is compassionate and empathetic, often thinking of others, how they will feel, and always treating others with respect.
I loved how this book takes place over the course of multiple decades, showing snapshots of important moments in Marco and Lettie’s lives, we see couples fall in love, children born, and people die. And even though the years are spinning by, I never felt like I missed even a beat. Gripping from the very first page, I was delighted revisit many of families from Child of the River, like De Wet, Boelie, Christine, and Persomi, just to name a few. I savored immersing myself in a different culture, sharing their triumphs and heartbreak in this powerful read that showcases the human condition. This book showed a very different side of South Africa than its companion, focusing more on the medical side and the Polio epidemic in South Africa.
Overall, a thoroughly tremendous read, Ms. Joubert is a masterful wordsmith, weaving a story that shows multiple families as they struggle through loss, love, forgiveness, and finding hope in second chances. The translation from Afrikaans is excellent. The faith element was handled very well, it was never preachy, and there were no pat answers.While the characters might not have spoken about their faith all the time, what was more powerful to me was how they lived it and how much it held weight in their lives by their actions.
A heartfelt read, I cried over their heartbreaks, and rejoiced with their triumphs. Heartbreaking, yet full of hope. One of my favorite books read this year, I can’t recommend this book enough!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising.”
I have read other books by Irma Joubert and am always fascinated by her writing style. I attribute a lot of her style to being from South Africa and having different authorial mentors and colleagues. She delves deeply into the lives of the people, surroundings and time frame; because of this, her stories are rich in content. The Crooked Path is the same.
**********May Contain Spoilers**********
There are four distinct stories presented.
The first story deals with Lettie, a socially inept, awkward young lady, more interested in academia than “playing games.” Her focus and determination pay off in the form of the title and career as a doctor. She is vested in her patients from day one.
The second story deals with Marco and his childhood love, Rachel. The story of Marco and Rachel is sad and poignant, dealing with many of the atrocities endured by the Jewish during WWII. This portion of the story is at times difficult and heartbreaking to read.
The third story centers on Marco and Lettie, beginning with Lettie becoming Marco’s doctor. There are many sweet, endearing moments. However, there is much sadness, too.
The fourth story focuses on Lettie’s life after Marco. This portion of the story for me was a little off. There were parts where Lettie’s childhood daydreams seemed to be coming true, yet she put up every roadblock possible, and it just didn’t ring true to me.
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Overall, The Crooked Path was a unique book. Poignant and heart-tugging, it will leave a mark on you, leaving you with the question, “Is a crooked path a journey worth taking?”
(Caution-the story is targeted to the over 16 age group.)
I received this book from The Fiction Guild sponsored by Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. However, I was under no obligation to post a review.
One of the worst books I’ve ever read. One dimensional characters, thin plot, predictable to the point of being laughable. Writing was childish, she doesn’t so much foreshadow upcoming events as beat the reader relentlessly over the head with it–see this? Notice this? It’s gonna be important. Don’t miss this!. Despite being set in Africa, the only black character is an elderly retainer who weeps at the death of her “master” and is never mentioned again. A token mention? The main character, a doctor, does not seemed to possess a hint of humanity. Her concern for her patients is not demonstrated and, when a polio epidemic claims numerous victims at the “non-white” hospital, she doesn’t offer her assistance and offhandedly mentions that they would all probably die because the ambulances are for whites only. No sign of moral outrage at the inequity, just a matter of fact declaration. The book starts off fine with the main male character putting himself on the line to help his Jewish fiance and her family to evade the Nazis. This heroism is later undermined when he writes off this great love in two short sentences, in which he shows no remorse at her death or that of her family in a concentration camp and says that he hadn’t really loved until he met the main character (the doctor). Once he meets the the main character, his memory of his Jewish fiance is cast off without a backward glance. As for the heroine’s romances…her love interests are reduced to their component parts–his lovely green eyes, his dark hair–with no understanding of who they are beyond the surface. The wardrobes of superficial cast of characters is the only in depth descriptions to be found. They themselves seem like puppets without souls. Reading this was like seeing a car crash. I didn’t want to keep looking but it was so incredibly horrible that I kept believing (based on the great reviews by other readers) that it would somehow redeem itself and become more than the absolute zero it turned out to be. If zero stars were an option, that would be my assessment of this nightmare.
I enjoyed every page!
I loved it! Another continent, a different time.
I like to read about how other people deal with problems in their reality. It was at times emotional and uplifting!!!
Beautiful story!
loved this book, great characters, several tragedies, but still uplifting.
I absolutely loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down once I started it.
Really enjoyed reading about South Africa and Italy in this historical/romantic fiction. Just wish I would’ve read “Child of the River’ first as this book seems to follow that. Looking forward to more English translations of Irma Joubert’s writing.
I couldn’t put this book down. Translating the war story I had known from the news into such real and personal experiences is a credit to the author’s exceptional talent. It was a privilege to read.
This was a fabulous historical novel that taught as you read along and ended well after having gone through some of the most horrifying periods of history.
I received this book from The Fiction Guild. I was not required to give a favorable review. This is another wonderful book from Irma. I have read 2 other of her books and I find that her writing draws such great pictures of each of the characters and the areas that they are in. I would recommend each of Irma’s books if you want a book with a bit of history, a personal side and wonderful characters.