Autumn Dawson
I am—for reasons that are best not disclosed at this moment—frequently asked for book recommendations. When this happens, one of my first questions in return is, “Do you want something to fill an hour here or there, or, do you want to stay awake all night until you either finish the story with tears burning your eyes or pass out because your stupid eyelids won’t…stay…open…any…longer?
If you answered the latter, enjoy historical fiction, and you want to read one of the greatest love stories ever written, I recommend reading McNaught’s Almost Heaven. I stumbled across this masterpiece in a resell bookshop my freshmen year, and when my then boyfriend (now husband) went hunting for a weekend with the guys, I sat down after dinner Friday night thinking I would read for a bit before watching a movie with a suitemate. Come Saturday afternoon, my suitemate—who’d never had firsthand experience with a “reader”—was starting to get worried.
In the past 24 hours, I had only opened my door to a) apologize and tell her I would not be watching the movie and b) gather necessities (a.k.a. caffeine so I could stay awake) with the book still glued in one hand. I finished the book in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, and then I just sat there, staring at the story through the tears blurring my vision, wishing I could do it all over again.
As to the novel itself, I will not go into the details of McNaught’s prose—I’m well aware that only other writers and critics care about style—but I will tell you that she has a beautifully woven tapestry of a story, a heroine you will want to be, and a hero that…well…I’ll leave that up to you. For now, all you need to know is that it’s the story of a love that was torn apart by the betrayal of a friend and the selfishness of a brother, and was given the chance, many years later, to grow again. The journey for Elizabeth and Ian is one that will have you alternatively laughing and crying, and all the while slowly falling in love.
Just a disclaimer, multiple girls I have recommended this novel to—who had never read McNaught before—finished this book and did what I did: bought every other novel this writer has put out during her acclaimed career. If you like historical novels and stories that haunt you long after the last page has been read, scrape together seven bucks and take a trip to Barnes & Noble. It will be well worth it.