Hello Friends!
I know I haven’t been posting reviews, but to be honest I have been very focus on writing, actually, after I post this review I will go back to it.
The review I bring you today is of a book I read in the beginning of the month and it was quite interesting and different from what I was reading at the time.
“All the Beautiful Liars“, written by Sylvia Petter, is a Literary fiction novel published on March 16th 2020.
I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, and Sylvia Petter for the eCopy of this book and for allowing me to join in the fun and by being a part of the blog tour with my honest review of the book.
Synopsis
How true are the family histories that tell us who we are and where we come from? Who knows how much all the beautiful liars have embargoed or embellished the truth?
During a long flight from Europe to Sydney to bury her mother, Australian expat Katrina Klain reviews the fading narrative of her family and her long quest to understand her true origins. This has already taken her to Vienna, where she met her Uncle Harald who embezzled the Austrian government out of millions, as well as Carl Sokorny, the godson of one of Hitler’s most notorious generals, and then on to Geneva and Berlin. Not only were her family caught up with the Nazis, they also turn out to have been involved with the Stasi in post-war East Germany.
It’s a lot to come to terms with, but there are more revelations in store. After the funeral, she finds letters that reveal a dramatic twist which means her own identity must take a radical shift. Will these discoveries enable her to complete the puzzle of her family’s past?
Inspired by her own life story, Sylvia Petter’s enthralling fictional memoir set between the new world and the old is a powerful tale about making peace with the past and finding closure for the future.
Purchase Link: Amazon
For a limited time, All the Beautiful Liars will be available for only 99p.
Author Bio
Sylvia Petter was born in Vienna but grew up in Australia, which makes her Austr(al)ian.
She started writing fiction in 1993 and has published three story collections, The Past Present, Back Burning and Mercury Blobs. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of New South Wales.
After living for 25 years in Switzerland, where she was a founding member of the Geneva Writers’ Group, she now lives in Vienna once more.
Social Media Links – Twitter | Goodreads | Website | Instagram
My Review
A fictional memoir and it isn’t the first book in the genre that I have read, although I haven’t read as many as other genres, nevertheless, it’s always hard to review, because it’s based on reality or truly describes the real events that happened in someone’s life. That been said, when I first started reading, I know I had an emotional story in my hands.
Sylvia Petter took us on a journey that quite reminded me of listening to my grandparents telling me about their lives. I have always wanted to know more about certain things, to learn the reality behind the truth of their stories, to speak with other members of the family and one day I will. This book had that feeling to me. I felt connected to Katrina, and I truly felt as if I was right beside her while all these events and uncovering of her origins were happening.
Like I expected, it was an emotional story, a rollercoaster really, and when I thought we had learn everything, or that it couldn’t possibly be any more that would surprise me, something happened. The truth is this novel is based on the author’s life, and if that doesn’t make you realize the power and realism, then you should really read the book. Sylvia Petter opened her heart and memories using Katrina as a vehicle to transport us into this book.
The descriptions, the emotions, the stories within the bigger picture, the characters that we feel as though we have known our all lives. It all painted our minds with images, and and connected us to Katrina and her journey.
Overall, I won’t go into details and accidentally give spoilers, but I loved how the book was written and how the storytelling got so many turns and twists. And I do recommend it to everyone, if the blurb made you curious, then read it!
Don’t forget to check out all the other bloggers that given their contribute in this Blog Tour.
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I always welcome new books to add to my list and I’m always excited to do reviews and read books. And I’m open to debate and exchange opinions, so let’s talk.
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Love,
Jess
Jess Bookish Life 