Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave [Book Review]

‘You’re going to pay someone to teach you how to write?’
‘You could just write.’
‘You pay someone to teach you how to think’.
‘I learn what people thought in the past in order to form new thoughts’.
‘And I will learn what people used to write so I can write my own.’
Page 80

In a nutshell

In the summer of 1978 on the steps of Sacre-Coer in Paris, Erica and Laure meet. Erica, an English student enjoying her summer abroad before starting university. Laure, a French student studying towards her PhD. Sparks fly and their chance encounter turns into a summer romance that will define their lives. For the next few decades, despite them going their own ways, fate conspires to bring them together again and again, challenging them to be brave enough to seize the life they truly want.

Book Club Notes

The storyline crept along at a painfully slow pace. It took me 200 pages to feel some sort of momentum happening. That’s a lot of pages to read and yet despite feeling meh for at least the first half, I never once thought about a DNF. It’s decently written, and while both Erica and Laure are in their own ways irritating (and a touch toxic), there was always a hint of intrigue that kept me slogging through. It did pick up towards the end, and on reflection, perhaps what kept me going is the idea that one encounter can change your life but it’s up to you to be honest and brave enough to do something about it.