Painfully brilliant

 

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑  Having stayed up far too late last night to finish The Paper Palace, I still feel gut-punched by the finale. Be warned, this is not a light and easy read. It is powerful, searing and absolutely addictive. Brilliant writing carries this story of Elle and her love for two different men. Peter, an Englishman with wit and charm, whom she married and had three children with, is unlike Jonas the man she's known since childhood spending numerous inseparable summers together on Cape Cod. They share a close bond neither time nor distance has severed as well as a dark secret told to no one else. Both perfectly lovely men, each special in his own way, but a heartbreaking choice to make in choosing between them.

It's difficult to capture how incredible this book is. It is dark and hard to take, at times, yet completely absorbing. There is a ghastly amount of dysfunction in Elle's life as she grows from child to adult seeded well before her time by her parents and grandparents. She yearns for safety and security which leads her in turn to Jonas followed, years later, by Peter. A captivating, raw story that is both troubling and shocking, the atmosphere of summer at the camp on Cape Cod seems a palpable balm to Elle and all who spend time there. I could taste the salt on the air, the description of time and place was so spot on.

The Paper Palace leaves a lingering shadow on its readers which I can still feel now. Troubling yet fascinating, an enigma of swirling emotion, pain, hope, love and fear. Masterfully told.