“Worldwide Adventures in Love” is
Louise Wener’s forth novel and it is a poignant and moving reflection on love,
loss and the fragility of life.
Wener’s character’s crackle with
life and carry a real emotional punch. The plot is both charming and engaging
as two sisters struggle to come to terms with the death of their eccentric and
reclusive elderly neighbour, Edith, just as their own family begins to unravel.
Discovering Edith’s letters from
the 1930’s reveal her past as an explorer and adventurer, along with the doomed
love affair that shaped her life. The resonances between her past life and the fragile
and chaotic disintegration of the girls’ own family provides a rich and
satisfying seam that Wener exploits with consummate skill.
Wener fashions a pitch-perfect
evocation of growing up in the late seventies, where the problems of modern
life could be successfully resolved by the combination of a Tarzan movie and a Battenberg
cake. I loved the fact that her protagonist’s sister chose a Mohawk haircut
because it could be successfully self-administered, rather than having anything
to do with the blossoming punk-rock scene of the Sex Pistols.
For me this was as satisfying as
Wener’s debut novel, but carries far greater emotional weight and currency. She
had me in tears with the ending of the novel. I found her writing brave,
knowing and wise. Given that this was originally published in 2008 I hope that
Wener is close to publishing her next book. It will have been worth the wait.
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