Bookworm Press

Finally! This book took me forever to write, at least it seems that way, but here it is now. I’m very happy and grateful for the wonderful reviews it has garnered so far. Here is the blurb:

With a captivating mystery at its core, Letter from a Cave is a suspenseful journey through Switzerland and Italy that will make readers feel a gamut of powerful emotions. Fans of Christa Polkinhorn’s other novels will be delighted to meet a few familiar characters. Don’t miss your chance to get lost in this unforgettable story!

Andreas, a Swiss sculptor and stonemason, grieving the loss of his wife from three years ago, discovers an old, abandoned backpack in a cave during his hike in the Swiss mountains. What he finds within the backpack—a letter written by a young Jewish refugee during the Second World War to his pregnant wife in Italy—sets him on a quest with his friend, Luisa, to find out what happened to the man, to his wife, Bella, and her family in Italy. During their search, they meet both helpful people and those who try to prevent them, even by force, from digging into a past filled with heroism but also with cruelty and betrayal. Will the outcome of the quest bring closure and peace, or will it cause turmoil and heartache?

Review by Lisette Brodey:

I’ve read several of this author’s books over the years, and I was very happy to learn she had a new release, one that gives new adventures to established characters. It’s always great to see old friends. That said, this wonderful book doesn’t rely on past novels to be enjoyed.

Sculptor Andreas, who has been lonely and depressed since his wife’s death three years prior, often hikes into the mountains. One day, while with his dog in a cave, he is surprised when the dog unearths a backpack from years ago. Looking inside, Andreas finds a letter from an Italian man named Joshua to his pregnant wife, Bella during World War II. He realizes Joshua never made it home and his family most likely never knew what happened to him or that he had tried to make contact.

The emotional weight of the letter hits Andreas hard, and with the encouragement of his daughter, Emilia, and his son, Tonio, he sets off to Italy to see if he can do the impossible and track down Bella (if she’s still alive) or other family members. Tonio takes his sister and father to a vineyard in Tuscany where he has a friend, Julietta. Readers of the author’s previous book will remember Julietta and her mother, Luisa, from The Italian Sister.

From this point on, the story really takes off. I don’t want to summarize the plot, but rather offer a short commentary on why I found this book to be so special. Author Polkinhorn has several wonderful and heartfelt sub-plots flowing through the main story. All of them are skillfully woven together, beautifully emulating life and its twisty, unpredictable ways. I genuinely cared about every character.

Letter from a Cave offers suspense, romance, emotion, surprises, nostalgia, and so much more. The author’s gorgeous descriptions made it easy to visualize the scenes in Switzerland and Italy—not to mention making me hungry for Italian food.

This was truly a feel-good read, and I hope the author will continue to write more stories with her delightful characters. Already, I’m wondering how they’re all doing.

Thank you so much, Lisette!

Letter from a Cave, eBook

Letter from a Cave, paperback

Happy Reading!

Today, I got an eagerly awaiting package in the mail: the paperback version of Granite Hearts, Elizabether Egerton Wilder’s great historical novel and the sequel to The Spruce Gum Box. The paperback version came out beautifully. But the book is of course also available as ebook.

After reading the first part of this sequel, The Spruce Gum Box, my only regret was that I had arrived at the last page. I had fallen in love with the book, the characters, and the marvelous descriptions of the Maine landscape in the early 1800’s. So, I was very happy when I received the sequel.

Heart-warming, sensitive, and beautifully told  

I was first attracted to this work of historical fiction by the author Elizabeth Egerton Wilder through a post on Scott Nicholson’s blog as well as by the title. I have never heard of a spruce gum box and I wanted to know what it was. Just goes to show how a good and somewhat mysterious title can draw you into a book! The fact that the author published her debut novel fairly late in life added to my curiosity, since I am in a somewhat similar position. I started to read and was instantly drawn into this wonderful story.

The Spruce Gum Box deals with a chapter in American history I knew nothing about. It takes place during the early nineteenth century in Maine at the time of the border dispute between Great Britain and the United States. A lot of research must have gone into this book. The reader gets a vivid picture of the struggle of the people who were trying to carve out a life for themselves along the Aroostook River as well as of the relationship between the pioneers and the native people, the Micmac Indians.

The heart of the story, however, is the destiny of individual people, their hopes, loves, fears, and hardships. It tells of the forbidden love between young Jed and Addie, of the tender love between Jed and his son, Benjie, as well as the friendship between Jed, Benjie and the native people of the Micmac tribe—Jacob, Nuga, Hanna, Birdie, Bear, Nettie. It is also a tale about community, the importance of belonging and adjusting, of overcoming prejudice.

The characters are vividly portrayed and convincing and they stayed with me long after I finished reading the novel. These are complex but lovable people and their fate touched me. It’s been a while since I cried reading a book, but my eyes misted over more than once while I read this novel.

This is a work with a leisurely pace, one that lets you enjoy and savor the natural beauty of the landscape, leads you slowly into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, and explores their everyday and often harsh but meaningful lives. Leisurely, however, does not mean boring. On the contrary, each event, each chapter drives the story forward and makes you want to turn the page (or flip the page, in the case of an eReader).

I can only recommend this heart-warming and sensitive tale and if you want to know what a spruce gum box is (and I bet you don’t know), READ IT!