While all the trademarks of a Bradford novel are here, such as attention to details of rooms and furnishings, the author has taken a new tack. She offers a stand-alone tale that takes us throughout the world, back in time, and then returns to the present day.
It begins when Justine Nolan, a documentary filmmaker, accidentally opens a letter addressed to her mother, Deborah. Distanced parenting is the best way to describe Justine’s relationship with her mother, but happily Justine found the love and nurture everyone needs from Gabriele, her grandmother who passed away almost a decade ago. What a shock it is for Justine to discover in the letter that her grandmother is still alive. Some ten years ago Deborah had told Justine and her brother, Richard, that Gabriele had died in a plane crash. Yet here is a letter entreating Deborah to make peace with Gabriele before the older woman truly dies.
With only an Istanbul postmark on this letter to go on Justine and Richard decide to try to find Gabriele, a search that takes them not only to Turkey but to the discovery of long-held family secrets and the ongoing effects of World War II trauma.
While often thought of as a British voice performer, Nicola Barber is also equally adept with German, Russian and characters from different countries. She delivers a flawless narration of Letter From A Stranger.
Enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
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