Veena’s review of The Time Between by Karen White
Womens Fiction published by NAL Hardcover 04 Jun 13
Chance is a mighty fine thing and I am grateful for the chance that brought this book to me. From the opening pages the author reaches out and grabs me by the short hairs and sucks me into the lives of her characters. The characters are so real and well developed that I could visualize them as real people and emote with them as they live their day-to-day lives burdened by the paths they follow and the choices they make.
Ellie and Eve are sisters. Eve is beautiful and the center of her mother’s attention and ambition. Ellie is the apple of her father’s eye and a very talented musician. But when her father dies when she’s fourteen, Ellie becomes a fearless hoyden, going from extreme to extreme, craving her mother’s attention until it all comes to a head one day. She dares Eve to climb a tree so they can show off for a young man they are both attracted to, but then Eve falls and becomes a paraplegic while Ellie survives somewhat unscathed.
Her guilt over her sister’s condition turns Ellie into a faceless cipher who lives her life like a slave to her family from household chores to her earnings. Eve is now married to Glenn, whom they both love. Eve doesn’t blame her sister, once she comes to terms with her disability, but doesn’t know how to get herself out of the vicious cycle of hate that she’s created from the love they once shared. It’s hard to believe these two women were once inseparable sisters, but you can see it in hidden moments as Eve strives to create a bridge.
In the midst of this day-to-day drudgery, Eve announces she’s pregnant, and Ellie, needing to create some distance between Eve and Glen, takes on a part-time job for her current boss, Finn. His grandaunt Helena has been gravely ill and depressed after her sister Bernadette’s death. In Ellie, Helena sees all the regrets of her own choices, and the two get off to a hostile start. But with her antagonistic approach, Helena is able to reach Ellie in ways that no one else ever has. In turn, Ellie brings light into the dark regrets and secrets of the past that Helena has kept close to her chest.
A beautiful ray of sunshine in the story is Finn’s daughter, a little girl who has been diagnosed with cancer and is now in her fourth year of remission. She lives every day with zest and looks for the best in everything around her. Of course, then there’s Finn, Ellie’s boss and little Gigi’s father. Can Ellie really find the music in her heart and the love that she deserves? Can the two sisters find their way back to each other and the unconditional love that they once shared? Can Helena finally let the secrets that she’s held for so long see the light of day and find forgiveness and redemption?
I believe this quote from the book says it all – “We live, we love. These are the chances we are given, to open doors or to close them. It is all we have and it is enough.” This book is definitely a keeper, and I am going to find other books by this author. I have already started to recommend this book to my friends and most especially to both my sisters with whom I share a very rich and rewarding relationship.
Grade: A+
Summary:
From New York Times Bestselling author Karen White, a stunning new novel about two generations of sisters who must learn to live with their darkest secrets…
Thirty-four-year-olf Eleanor Murray is consumed by guilt for causing the accident that paralyzed her sister–and for falling in love with her sister’s husband. But when her boss offers her a part-time job caring for his elderly aunt, Helena, Eleanor accepts, hoping this good deed will help atone for her mistakes.
On Edisto Island, Eleanor bonds with Helena over their mutual love of music. Drawing the older woman out of her depression, Eleanor learns of her life with her sister in Hungary before and during World War II. She hears tales of passion and heartache, defiance and dangerous deception. And when the truth of Helena’s and her sister’s actions comes to light, Eleanor may finally allow herself to move past guilt and to embrace the song that lies deep in her heart…
