Windfallen

I, too, loved this book when I read it years ago under the title of "Windfallen". Now I have a second copy. I applaud good Marketing, but I think that changing the name of a book (which often happens) is deceiving and not good Marketing. For anyone who hasn't read it, it is a very good read.

I choose fiction by picking audio books randomly from the fiction shelves. Thus I am exposed to a wide variety most of it romance or mytery as these genres are produced in abundance. Sometimes a novel fails to fit neatly into its apparent genre group, in this case romance. To clarify what I mean let me use "Anna Karenina" (Leo Tolstoy author) as an example. It could be called a romance novel. But it wasn't written to titillate as are the majority of modern romances. "Anna Karenina" is such a strong piece of writing that however else it may be categorized, most would agree that it is work of art, indeed a masterpiece. In the same way, "Foreign Fruit" is a work of art. The author has constructed a plot whose evolution cannot be guessed by the reader; surprises occur but never seem artificial. The characters are true to life; they are so vivid that you can imagine sitting across the table from them. Even the hackneyed roles, e.g. the loud mouth "queen bee" speaking at the town meeting, are so well woven into the fabric of the work that they do not seem trite. When characters speak, what they say is genuinely important to the movement of the plot, not just filler as dialogue in novels often is. A story consists of words built into sentences. The sentences of this novel are carefully crafted and fit together neatly to build the whole. For me the surest sign of a weak author is the one who includes explicit sex scenes in a novel. Nearly 100% of American fiction writers do. The percentage among British authors is less. Perhaps the Brits are just more self confident in their writing and feel less like they need to mask weak talent by writing soft porn. "Foreign Fruit" has no descriptions of genitalia and their massaging by the opposite sex, no erections and wetting described and the raw emotions that stimulate them, no mounting and entering nor descriptions of orgasms. The writing in "Foreign Fruit" is competent, strong, even beautiful. An author with this skill has no need of the hackneyed "sex device" and does not use it. If a Nobel Prize is ever awarded for the ability to write about romance so skillfully that explicit sex scenes are unnecessary to hold reader interest, then I hope that the Nobel Committee includes "Foreign Fruit" in its deliberations. The listener's experience of an audio book can be damaged by a poor reader and enhanced by a good reader. Judith Boyd's performance combined with Jojo Moyes writing has produced perhaps the best audio book that I have ever listened to. Ms. Boyd is just as talented in what she does as Ms. Moyes is in what she does! It is difficult for me to call this novel anything less than brilliant and the Clipper Audio edition, narrated by Judith Boyd magnifies its brilliance!

My hats off to Jojo Moyes for a brilliant love story. I absolutely loved this book, I couldn't put it down. The way the author describes feelings of the heart is so moving, and I was brought to tears. The pain of love lost is so vividly portrayed. An excellent read.

When Daisy comes to the town of Merham, England, she hopes to reshape her life. Instead, she finds herself embroiled in a controversy with someone else's history. Lottie Bernham came to Merham as a war refugee and became such fast friends with Celia, the daughter of her host family, that she rarely returned to her home in England. The two remain close until Celia falls in love and brings her fiancé, Guy, to meet her family. From the moment she sees Guy, Lottie cannot take her eyes off of him. Although she tries to avoid him, they seem to be thrown together. He even enjoys the company of the residents of Arcadia House when the rest of the town is scandalized at the behavior of the artists who purchased it. When one of the artists paints a mural depicting Guy and Lottie in love with one another, they must decide between passion and propriety. Fast forward 50 years, when the new owner of Arcadia House decides to turn the place into a fancy hotel. Daisy takes on the job of remodeling the building, moving into the hotel during its renovation in order to provide a home for herself and her daughter. When the carpenters come across the mural hidden behind years of growth and decay, she decides to have it restored to its former glory. Now Daisy must come to terms with her future and Lottie must come to terms with her past. Jojo Moyes has a way of drawing the reader into the story, of making the reader turn the page to find out what happens next. The characters, with all of their flaws and the hardships they face, ring true for the reader. Although part one focuses on Lottie, part two focuses on Daisy so that we see the changes in the people and the town of Merham from an outsider's perspective. The stories of the two women parallel each other, in more subtle ways than often seen in novels.

Teenage Londoner Lottie Swift finds the seaside village of Merham quite delightful as no one dare break the rules of morality less they prefer exile or being ostracized. However, the conversion of Arcadia mansion into a retreat for bohemian artists causes monumental conflict, as the locals detest the nonconformist outsiders. Lottie relishes the new infusion of excitement that the avant-garde crowd brings.Five decades later, Daisy Parsons arrives at the small back to sleep village to renovate Arcadia into a luxury hotel. The villagers once again abhor the thought of amoral outsiders descending on their hamlet. Insecure from a failed relationship, Daisy discovers a mural that portrays scenes from the mansion's ignominious past. Daisy's work begins destroying the emotional cocoon that Lottie has resided since her teen days.WINDFALLEN is a well-written comparative character study that interweaves the past and the present into a cohesive tale. The story line enables the audience to see deep inside the two women so that everyone understands what motivates both and the tenuous relationship and bond which forms between them. Though limited in action, Jojo Moyes provides readers with a deep drama that focuses on the long-term impact of personal opportunity costs.Harriet Klausner