Connections
One Long Weekend by Shari Low is a powerful contemporary novel that I loved. For a few hours I immersed myself in the world of the novel as I joined for characters for a weekend.
The novel is set in Glasgow and told in the first person from four alternating points of view. These seemingly unconnected lives find themselves intersecting over one long weekend. The reader spots the connections before the characters do, as we become intimately acquainted with them all.
A moment in time is all it takes to alter four lives. Lives that were balanced on a knife edge find that life looks very different on a Monday afternoon compared with Friday morning.
We meet a character who is struggling with the loss of three people very dear to her heart. Each loss has merely heightened the previous losses. Four rings have symbolized three lives and when these rings are accidentally lost, a character is bereft.
There is the importance of family. Family will move mountains to support others. We witness sacrificial love as we see several sets of parents and grown up children who will do whatever it takes in order to protect those they love.
There is character who has suffered verbal abuse for years. We see the bravery it takes, just to keep going each day.
A character travels an ocean to search for a lost love. The end of the weekend produces some surprising results.
The modern phenomena of social media is a powerful tool. When used correctly, there is the wealth of power at the touch of a button as many can search for what one has lost.
I thoroughly enjoyed One Long Weekend. The characters were all well drawn. They elicited a variety of emotional responses from me. This was a powerful novel showing how four strangers lives interconnect over the simplest of things.
I received a free copy from Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
One Long Weekend
When all seems lost, hope remains…
Val Murray has mislaid her most precious mementoes of the people she’s loved and lost. Can her family, the wonders of technology and a little divine intervention somehow mend her shattered heart?
Sophie Smith had to take a rain check on a marriage proposal. Will her bid to turn back the clock lead her to her greatest love or yet another heartbreak?
Alice McLenn stood by her husband, Larry when a scandal cost them everything. When he hits the headlines again, Alice has an opportunity to leave – but can she find the strength to finally walk away?
Rory Brookes was forced to turn his back on his parents to save his career and marriage. Now, he’s lost his job and wife on the same day. Is it too late to make amends with the one person who never let him down?
Three days. Four broken hearts. Just one weekend to make them whole again.
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/OneLongWeekendsocial
Author Bio –
In January 2021, Shari Low celebrated 20 years as a best selling novelist. In that time, she has published over 25 books, including A Life Without You, The Story Of Our Life, Temptation Street, My One Month Marriage, One Day In Summer and her non-fiction collection of parenthood memories, Because Mummy Said So.
In late 2020, her first novel, What If? (originally published in 2001) was updated and re-released and became a best seller. In January 2021, the sequel, What Now? was released and joined What If? on the best-seller charts.
In real life, once upon a time she met a guy, got engaged after a week, and twenty-something years later she lives near Glasgow with her husband and a labradoodle. Her two teenagers have now left home, so she spends an inordinate amount of time on video calls checking if they’re eating well and keeping up to date with their laundry.
For all the latest news, visit Shari on Facebook, twitter, instagram or at www.sharilow.com
Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharilowbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharilow
