Title: The Book of Someday
Author: Dianne Dixon
Published: Sourcebooks Landmark September 2013
Status: Read from September 04 to 05, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}
My Thoughts:
Dianne Dixon’s second novel, The Book of Someday, is an intriguing story of three women bound by secrets and lies, forgiveness and redemption.
At nearly thirty, Livvi Gray still bears the emotional scars inflicted by her abusive stepmother and disinterested father. Then one evening she is swept off her feet by Andrew, a charismatic and wealthy man. Livvi blossoms under his attention, convinced she has finally found someone to love, who loves her back. Livvi is naive and vulnerable, invoking immediate sympathy for the pain of her childhood. That she finds happiness with Andrew is at first something to celebrate but Andrew is not exactly what he seems, and his love may be what breaks her.
Micah is proud of all she has – stunning looks, wealth and international recognition as a photographer but when she is diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, and finds she has no-one to turn to, she is forced to confront the mistakes of her past. Micah is not a particularly likeable character, portrayed largely as a cold, arrogant and selfish woman but we learn she was once a desperately unhappy girl at the mercy of a narcissistic mother which tempers the initial harsh judgement somewhat.
Though AnnaLee loves her husband, Jack, she is frustrated by the financial strain his career failures place on their family. With her adored baby daughter’s security her priority, AnnaLee does her best to hold her family together, even finding room for Jack’s rebellious niece, but her husband will betray her in the very moment she needs him most.
While Livvi and Micah’s stories unfold in the present, AnnaLee’s takes place almost a quarter of a century earlier. Slowly Dixon teases out the connection between these three women which makes perfect sense the moment Dixon reveals the identity of the woman in the silver dress and pearl-button shoes who has haunted them all. It comes, if not as a surprise, then as a very satisfying moment of affirmation.
The Book of Someday is a well written, absorbing tale of loss, love and the decisions that shape our lives.
“No matter how painful your life has been, you have the choice to learn from your past and then leave it. You have the choice. Every day. To love and be loved. To find your purpose. To work and to give. And to shape your world into something that’s quite remarkable.”
Click here to read my Q&A with Dianne Dixon
The Book of Someday is available to purchase From
Sourcebooks I Amazon US I Amazon UK I BookDepository
Filed under: Author Interview/Guest Post, ★★★★, Contemporary, Crime & Mystery, Fiction, Provided by Publisher
