27 October 2014

Review #40: Little Beauty by Alison Jameson




My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is hard to tell about the extent of a mother's love, at what length and at what level she can go to protect her own children.
Joanne Harris, an acclaimed British author, famous for writing the award-winning novel Chocolat has been found quoting these remarkable lines about a "mother and her love":

“Children are knives, my mother once said. They don’t mean to, but they cut. And yet we cling to them, don’t we, we clasp them until the blood flows.”

Laura Quinn is another woman, who had to give up the one thing, that made her feel loved for once in her life, but still she held on to hope that one day....one day... she will again be loved.

Laura is Alison Jameson's protagonist in her new novel, Little Beauty, which opens the door to the expanse of a mother's indefinite love for her own flesh and blood. Oh no, you can't exactly call, Laura selfish, all she wanted was a small piece of happiness in her already so gloomy and lonely life. But in the end she couldn't hold to her piece of happiness, but she never regretted her life and never felt left out in this big, complicated world. Because in the end, even after losing everything, she was felt loved on her last breath.


Synopsis:
Laura is in her late thirties and beware, most of the time you might confuse with Laura's age, since she is still unmarried, still in a courtship, still can have affairs , still can develop crush on strangers! Well, Laura collects seaweeds, and lives by the bay of Inis Mór, a.k.a, The Whale Island, in a little white teakwood house. Left orphaned by her parents at tender age, Laura has learnt to lead her life alone and knows very well to take care of her solitude. He is in a relationship with the light-house keeper, named, Martin, of the island. But when she accepts the job of a housekeeper of a rich family in the mainland, it makes Laura uncertain of her future with Martin, thus embarking towards her newly found bright future, where she meets Audrey and Finn- a couple, who were the owner of the house where she is hired as the house-keeper. Their warmth and love make Laura more jealous of her own future, thus striking up a fling with Finn behind Audrey's nose on the very first day of her visit to their house. But after she returns on the island, she falls pregnant, and soon she finds herself standing on the cross-roads, where her one single decision will decide the course of her future. Will Laura hold on to her son, Mathew, till the very end? Will she give a chance to Martin, the light-house keeper? Will she grow old happily?

From the book cover itself to the book's blurb, the book sounds so beautiful and heart-touching. Indeed it was a heart-touching experience for me. Who could have said, that the woman whom I hated in the beginning of the book, I would fall hard for her in the end? Not only I fell in love with her, but also I absorbed all her emotions with myself and cried along on her sorrowful journey. The author has got a lot of flair as well as talent to make her book not only compelling but also emotionally gripping and from the first page itself, I found myself moving on along on the footsteps of Laura. Not only was her style of writing wooed me, but also her descriptions and narration of her protagonist as well as the other characters were brilliantly striking. The set-up was even more wonderful, in such a solitary island, from the sea to the air everything sounded so peaceful, heart-wrenching, lonely yet beautiful, I could even smell the salty air on my lungs. In such a small island, very few people used to reside on the island, and I loved the concept about how everyone ended up in the island even after leaving the island for the rest of their lives. The people and Laura's neighbor were too fickle minded, when it was Laura's good time, everyone supported her and when she was in bad waters, everyone discouraged her or either hated her and bad-mouthed about her character. Although till the very end, Laura never had a good reputation in the island, but still she never gave up her life and bade good-bye with a jolly heart and with no regrets. But still her situation in the island and of her condition made me cry, her mother's heart was so weak, yet so strong, Laura is really a good mother-an epitome, you can say. Finn is a confused character for me, he doesn't say much or feel much in the beginning, but in his death bed, he realized whom he loved more. Martin was a good father and good husband, who loved Laura a lot and was quite sweet.

A very fascinating story, which really ticks your brain to think about a mother's gaping hole in her heart and how much a mother can give up for her own child's happiness. There were indeed so many things to learn from the book and so many uneventful incidents happening around Laura's life, will finally fill your heart with sympathy for this solitary woman.

Don't miss this tale, where surprisingly everyone ended up in the lonely, solitary island in the end, as if by fate and Laura's incredible talent to read tea leaves and predict futures, where in the end, she predicted hers as that she will drown in her life.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author and her publicist in Transworld Publishers for providing me with a review copy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author Info: 
Alison Jameson grew up on a farm in rural Ireland, a remote and beautiful place that continues to inspire her work. An English and History graduate of University College Dublin she worked in advertising for many years before becoming a full-time writer. Home is Dublin where she lives with her husband and son. 
Visit her here 

Book Purchase Links: 

View all my reviews

18 comments:

  1. Great Blog,
    You get a brighter and youthful skin tone. Kolors provides safe and natural Skin Care Solutions to restore soft and supple skin you’d love.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for this blog. If you need Website Designing and Development Services visit our page Ogen Infosystem.
    PPC Company in Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  3. Visit for the best Freight Forwarders and Shipping Company in Delhi at-
    Shipping Company in India

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice Blog, I Appreciate it is a very useful information all of us.
    Are You Looking For a Hair Transplant Treatment Please click the link:Hair Transplant Treatment

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice Post! Thanks for sharing such an amazing article, really informative,it helps me a lot. For more information, Please visit our website Skin Pigmentation Treatment in Hyderabad

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Really one of the best blogs. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful article with us.

    best fairness treatment.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Awesome, please update more valuable information like this. Amfez is one of the leading suppliers of Religious Craft at a reasonable rate. Get amazing Laddu Gopal Flute and Laddu Gopal Dress.
    Laddu Gopal Dress

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awesome blog, thanks for sharing with us. Meritidevisa provides the best Immigration Consultants in Delhi for Canada by well-experienced consultants.
    Canada Immigration Consultants in Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great, thank you so much for sharing with us. Get the best treatment for IVF in Aligarh, Noble IVF Centre in Aligarh provides Top Doctor for IVF in Aligarh at affordable price.
    Top Doctor for IVF in Aligarh

    ReplyDelete
  12. Virtual event platforms that offer gamification will often include a dedicated tab where attendees can view tasks to complete as well as the game leaderboard. virtual edge and quotes for planners

    ReplyDelete
  13. bright white vs daylight , daylight bulb color vs soft white, daylight versus soft white, daylight vs soft white vs bright white, difference in soft white and daylight bulbs, energetic daylight vs soft white, full spectrum light bulbs vs daylight bulbs, is soft white or daylight brighter, light bulb daylight vs bright white, natural light vs soft white, should i use soft white or daylight bulbs, soft white or bright white for kitchen, soft white vs daylight vs bright white, warm light vs daylight, what is difference between soft white and daylight bulbs, what is the difference between daylight and soft white bulbs, whats the difference between soft white and daylight bulbs.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looking for the best ART clinic software in Kolkata, India. Cloudinvitro is an Exclusive & Comprehensive IVF Lab based Data Management Software which helps the Individual ART Clinic to effectively manage, ART clinic software in Kolkata.
    Thank You!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for sharing such an informative blog. If you looking for Best IVF center in Krishna Nagar do visit us. We have the expertise and a specialized team that will help you at every step of the process.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sinds mijn laatste kennisupdate in januari 2022 beschik ik niet over specifieke informatie over een algemeen bekende mangaserie met de titel Harimanga. Als Harimanga een recente release of een minder bekende titel is, wil je misschien officiële mangawebsites, speciale mangaleesplatforms of communityforums met betrekking tot manga raadplegen voor de nieuwste informatie en discussies.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback!