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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good summer read,
This review is from: Spanish Lover (Paperback)
"The Spanish Lover" is the story of British twin sisters who lead very different lives. Lizzie "has it all" -- the good-looking husband, two well-behaved children, a spacious country home, and a successful gallery/shop she runs with her husband. She worries about Frances, her single twin, who seems to lead, in Lizzie's estimation, an unfulfilled existence (since it is in complete contrast to her own life). Frances is a travel agent who travels to Spain and meets Luis, a man who will have a dramatic impact on her life. When Frances decides to pursue a relationship with Luis, Lizzie begins obsessing over Frances' life and loses sight of the events in her own life. At first read one would call this the story of Frances' awakening and growth but it is really the story of the evolution of both sisters and the impact on the other people in their lives. The characters and plot are well-developed and the book is well-written. The ending is a bit contrived but still believable. Amazingly I did not take the cynical view that these people could not possibly exist or that the events could not happen -- Trollope made me WANT to believe them! This is an excellent summer read - escapism with substance.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Depth and realistic compromises,
By A Customer
This review is from: Spanish Lover (Paperback)
I am a big Trolloppe fan, and enjoyed this book because it let me get to know the two main characters in enough depth so I wasn't going "huh?" every time someone said or did something, a minor complaint in some of her other novels, where dozens of characters are thrown at you. I savored the contrast between scenes set in chilly Bath and sunny, historic Spain. What I didn't quite believe at first was how the Spanish Lover, Luis, would go so nuts over prim Frances in the first place, but what happens at the end, which I won't give away, rings true for this kind of man operating in this kind of culture. The back story of the parents seemed labored and not entirely believable. It actually detracted from the otherwise strong believability of the twins. I always groan when a baby appears at the end of a book, making a paste-on happy ending, and as if to rectify all wrongs, but the ending here was bittersweet and mixed for both sisters. Life moves along in its real, sometimes thwarted way.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vacation reading,
By wordfiendca (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Spanish Lover (Mass Market Paperback)
I think that Joanna Trollope does an excellent job of exploring the choices that we make as individuals and how those choices impact where our lives go. Her characters are normal people who make imperfect choices and have to deal with the good and bad consequences. In this book, I think that she jumped a little too much and didn't focus on character development as much as she could have. She established the main characters quite well, then had them change their behaviour too quickly, without enough of an explanation. I did enjoy that she set a good portion of the book in Spain and did try to capture a different atmosphere besides the usual English background that she uses for her other books. This is a great book to read on your first days of vacation or after a stressful week.
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