Rosalind gulped and said, “It’s too painful to talk about at present. I’m still going though the healing process. Maybe, one day I’ll tell you all about it.”
That is how the book starts, acquainting the reader with Rosalind’s current state of mind. Dig a little deeper into the book and you would find out how she is as a girl; she is a nice, innocent, somewhat timid girl minding her own business (tending to the wounded soldiers, that is). She is not someone to make an issue out of her personal tragedy. When Eyal’s eyes meet hers, she is somewhat baffled, not knowing how to respond. I would say that the book resonates a lot with my life. I too had met a girl who literally swept me off my feet, but due to the fact that she was from a different religion my mother never approved of her. Given that I have gone through a similar tragedy myself, I can easily understand Rosalind’s predicament and I would say that the book has done a great job of portraying her character in the most realistic way possible; the author does not ever stop describing her mental state all throughout the novel, which makes it easy for the readers to connect with her. The paragraph I quoted above is proof of that: she’s been delineating Rosalind’s inner and outer selves from the very beginning. Just like Rosalind, I too had to go through ‘healing process’ for months after my breakup.
The author does a good job of delineating even the minor, supporting characters of the book; the soldiers are not used as ‘fillers’; rather, each of them is described well enough to enable the reader to get an idea of what the soldiers have to go through in a war zone; at the same time the author also spares no detail to describe Rosalind’s empathy toward them. For instance, this sentence aptly describes her feelings of empathy for one soldier who’d lost his wife in the battleground:
She thought, “Poor wife! – Oh, how awful, I’ve already forgotten her name. At least I could have remembered that.”
Likewise, the commonalities which bind Eyal and Rosalind together are described in great detail:
“Eyal and Rosalind were considered to be “bookworms” by those who knew them. They enjoyed staying at home reading, studying, enjoying one another’s company and having great sex. Their precious moments were spoiled every second Saturday morning, when there was a knock on the door and Eli, Eyal’s classmate from high school appeared.”
I could not help but wonder though, what kind of a woman would tolerate a man who was “very ugly with large protruding teeth and thick glasses, and he had the worst smell from neither bathing on a regular basis nor brushing his teeth” except the epitome of patience and sweetness that Rosalind is.
The romantic dialogs are somewhat cheesy at times but I think that is acceptable in a romance novel:
“Rosalind, my darling you know I love and cherish you. I’d die if you left me. I need and want you next to me at all times,”
The mother’s predicament and disturbed state of mind is clearly described in great detail full of realism, again through excellent dialog:
“Sarah, you’ll have to acknowledge Eyal’s wife as your daughter-in-law.”
“I can’t accept her, no matter how hard I try.”
“Sarah, your son loves you very much. If you remember that, you’ll see his wife in a positive light.”
“We’ll see,” Eyal’s mother answered.
Overall I really liked the book, more so because it spoke directly to me. Highly recommended for all those who want to read a serious, thoughtful romantic book (btw, not to sound licentious but I also loved the woman’s butt in the book cover).