The Sky Over Lima by Juan Gomez Barcena

Set in Peru at the turn of the twentieth century, this is the fictionalized account of a love affair via letter.  Spanish poet Juan Ramon Jimenez had fallen in love with Georgina, a young woman in Lima who wrote to him begging for a copy of his recent book of poetry that had not yet been published in her country.  They subsequently carried on a correspondence for a few years during which he fell in love with her. 

Unknown to Juan, it was actually two young men who collaborated to compose and send the letters of Georgina.  It had started out innocently, as they did seek a copy of his book.  For what ever reason, they continued with the ruse until it threatened to be exposed.

It was fascinating to read how the author proposed the reasons for why Jose and Carlos continued with this fakery.  It felt so real, that it was possible it truly did occur in that manner.  Some letters have survived the ravages of time and obviously led the author to create this captivating story.  The rest, pure speculation...

I loved this book.  It is a unique tale made even more appealing by it's historical accuracies.  Jose and Carlos are young men at odds with the futures their fathers have decided for them.  Instead, they fancy themselves to be poets, even though they are not published and it seemed they weren't destined to be.  They both came from a life of privilege that allowed them the time to indulge in such whimsy as this.  I wonder if they regretted their activity afterwards and if they ever tried to make amends for their actions.

This is a highly readable tale which effectively transported me to another time and lifestyle.

#IndigoEmployee

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

I loved this book.  Once I started reading I couldn't put it down.

High school is often the place where you forge new friendships.  Some will be passing and others will last a lifetime.  And then there will be the ones that change your life, forever.

Just one year earlier, Bee, Whitley, Martha, Cannon, Kipling and Jim had been friends in high school.  Jim was now dead and Bee hadn't seen the others since going away to college.  She suspects that the remaining four friends know more about Jim's death than they are letting one.  She need to know the truth so she can move on with her life, in fact, her life depends on her learning the truth.

How well can you truly know another person.  We all have secrets that we are unwilling to share.  Some are embarrassing and others might be criminal, but they are our secrets to tell or not.  What if you are keeping a secret to spare anther person from pain or anguish, does that make it all right.  Bee has her own secrets and she is determined to find out those of her former friends no matter what.

This tale spins out in a totally unique manner that I could not have imagined.  I am still pondering how I would have handled these events. Would I have been like Martha and taken an academic approach or a more hedonistic one similar to Whitley.

I am being cryptic as I don't want to give away anything.  There are so many varied actions that the characters take that I loved and hated them at different points.  It makes me wonder why the truth can be so hard to tell.

If you enjoyed Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz, you'll love Neverworld Wake.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Indigo Books & Music Inc., in exchange for an honest review.

#IndigoEmployee