“I wouldn’t feel too bad for old Pierre, luv.”
“Why not?”
“Well, let me put it this way. It has served as a chapel for a burnt-down abbey, a tomb for a desecrated royal corpse, a telegraph tower for the revolutionaries, a dusty wheat warehouse for the Russians, and even a munitions depot for the Paris Commune. I think it’s about time it’s overlooked, don’t you think?” Max said. “It’s earned its anonymity.”
Shelley found herself agreeing with him. It was, perhaps, no different from curling under the covers after a long and hard day. “But still,” she said, “I’m sure it must get lonely.”
(from Before Ever After)
Before Ever After is one of those books that is so good, you can’t stop thinking about it long enough to choose your next book. I was upset when I finished this one, simply because it was over and I wasn’t ready to detach myself from the world Samantha Sotto created in what is hard for me to believe is her first novel. I couldn’t help but notice how much her writing style reminded me of Erica Bauermeister’s (click to read my reviews of The School of Essential Ingredients and Joy for Beginners), so it’s easy to see why I gobbled this book up so quickly and absolutely loved it.
Before Ever After is the story of Shelley, an American living in London who impulsively decides to go on a European tour after quitting her job. She’s immediately drawn to the tour guide, an eccentric man with a love of chickens, baked egg and cheese breakfasts on Sundays, and the Bee Gees. No matter how hard she tries to resist Max, no matter how many times she told herself never to fall in love because she saw how broken and lost her mother was after her father’s death, she can’t help but marry him. The book opens with Max’s death in a train bombing, and three years later, Shelley is the lost, broken widow she always feared becoming.
When Paolo arrives on her doorstep claiming to be Max’s grandson, eerily looking just like the Max she married, and insisting he is alive and well in the Philippines, Shelley doesn’t know what to believe. Sitting next to Paolo on a plane to Boracay, Shelley recounts how she met Max and all the details of the European tour five years ago during which they fell in love.
Max takes Shelley and the other “campers” (an elderly couple on their honeymoon, a gay couple on the brink of engagement, and a young man with a creepy desire to take Shelley’s picture at every landmark) off the beaten path to tell the story of a family over the centuries, beginning at the end in 1871 during the fall of the Paris Commune and ending at the beginning when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped out Herculaneum in A.D. 79. Through these stories of love and loss, involving old rooster soup in an abbey in Vienna and the madness of a homesick Swiss mercenary, among others, Shelley and Paolo piece together the story of the man they both loved and lost and hope to meet again.
Sotto makes an impossible story seem possible with her thoughtful, beautiful prose. I could understand Shelley’s need to “jump off the train” whenever a relationship got too serious, but with the help of her fellow travelers and with Max spouting the wisdom of an old soul, she learns how to live in the now and make the choice to live and love. I loved how Sotto made it feel like I was on the European adventure with Shelley and the others and how she transported me back in time through Max’s stories. I bought Max and Shelley’s relationship from the very beginning and loved their bantering, but I loved the historical stories the most. Readers only get a glimpse of the characters from the past, but it’s enough to understand the world they lived in and the sadness and pain they endured.
Before Ever After is a love story at its core, but Sotto doesn’t go overboard with the romance. It’s also an adventure set during some fascinating periods in history and a discussion of life’s most difficult questions about time, love, devotion, and death. Sotto’s writing beautifully blends the history and heartache with humor and hope, and her ability to make the past come to life through ordinary people coping with extraordinary events kept me turning the pages and made me sad when it ended. It’s definitely on the list of contenders for my favorite reads of the year.
Disclosure: I received Before Ever After from Crown Publishers for review.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
The fact that you compared this to Bauermeister’s writing makes it sounds marvelous to me. I love books that end too soon.
LikeLike
You can tell it’s a good book if it leaves you wanting more in the end, even though the author didn’t leave you hanging. I hope you get a chance to read it.
LikeLike
I hadn’t heard of this book before but it definitely sounds like something I’d like!
LikeLike
Yes, I do think you’d enjoy this one!
LikeLike
I’ve had this book on my list for some time. After reading your review, I think I need to move it up.
Have a happy weekend, Anna!
LikeLike
Thanks, Beth! Hope you love it as much as I did.
LikeLike
You convinced me to read it with this sentence: “Before Ever After is one of those books that is so good, you can’t stop thinking about it long enough to choose your next book.”
Thanks, Anna!
LikeLike
It was so true! I literally sat staring at my shelf wondering what could possibly grab my attention after reading this book.
LikeLike
I’ve had this on my radar for so long, but now I really want to read it. Your review and the fact that it made it to your best reads list convinced me enough. And that book cover with an old book on it is soooo appealing.
LikeLike
I just adore the cover!
LikeLike
This sounds so good! I love books you just can’t stop thinking about.
LikeLike
I hope you get a chance to read it!
LikeLike
Sounds like an interesting premise. I hadnt heard of it before … thanks!
LikeLike
My pleasure! Hope you add this one to your TBR.
LikeLike
I LOVED THIS BOOK! Still do. I cannot wait for her to have another one for me to gobble up!
LikeLike
I’ll definitely read her next book. I can’t believe I waited to so long to read this one, though.
LikeLike
I’m glad that you finally read it.
LikeLike
What a wonderful review! I think I need to add this book to my TBR stacks–it sounds truly terrific! 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Suko! I think you’d like this one.
LikeLike
I have heard good things about this one 🙂
LikeLike
It was wonderful, so I hope you give it a try!
LikeLike
Hi! Serena shared the link to you blog with me. Thank you so much for your lovely review! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the book 🙂
LikeLike
You’re very welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
I don’t generally enjoy romances, but after reading your review of this book … WOW … I am sold. I am adding this to my list as we speak.
LikeLike
Every now and again, I like a romance (a la Jill Mansell), but it can’t be just any romance book. This one is so much more, which is why I loved it.
LikeLike
wow, Before Ever After sounds great. I have seen this one around and wondered about it. Nice review!
LikeLike
Thanks, Naida! I think you’d really like this one.
LikeLike
Every time I see the cover of this book it make me happy. I should probably get my hands on a copy just for all the joy it will bring!
LikeLike
Yes, yes, yes!! It’s such a great cover.
LikeLike
I have this on one of my tbr mountains! I will have to dig it out! Your enthusiasm has me sold!
LikeLike
Yay! Can’t wait to see what you think of it!
LikeLike
Oh this sounds like an interesting book!! Really hope I find the time to read again soon!!
LikeLike
I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but you’ll get back to the books soon enough. 🙂
LikeLike
I love the premise of this one – and then you throw in the Bauermeister reference, so, of course, I’m sold!
LikeLike
I hope you love it as much as I did!
LikeLike
I have heard good things about this book… Now I really want t read it!
LikeLike
I wish I would have taken everyone’s advice and read this one a long time ago!
LikeLike
Sorry but I can’t pin this one either. If you would like to increase the size of the image please let me know.
LikeLike
Glad I was able to help with the pinning issue! 🙂
LikeLike
So, I have had this in my tbr drawer for ages, I got an arc too, forever ago! Good to know it will be worth it when I get to it 🙂
LikeLike
Oh, yes! I wish I’d read it ages ago, but better late than never. Hope you enjoy it, too.
LikeLike
Just a note to let you know that your link in to Books You Loved: August was showcased in the September edition which has just posted. Would love to see another contribution from you this month! This is the link – Books You Loved September Edition
LikeLike
Thanks, Carole!
LikeLike
[…] Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto […]
LikeLike