Faraway Smell of Lemon: From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

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It's a story about loss and love, renewal and change, giving up and letting go, reaching out and reaching in. So why, then, do we behave as if everything we have connected with, everything we have blessed with our loving, should be ours for keeps?

A heart-warming tale about loss and grieving (there’s no actual death involved but the breakdown of a relationship). The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' is among my favorite books so I decided to give this work a go. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. It is raining, her house is falling apart, the streets are jammed with people and it is all Oliver’s fault.

She moved to writing after a long career as an actor, performing leading roles for the RSC, the National Theatre and Cheek by Jowl. It is important to accept the hiccups in life otherwise you can never move forward - Joyce portrays this so well.

Her writing is so neat and controlled, no time is wasted on explanations and our understanding of the situation unfolds as the story progresses. Sometimes circumstances mean you withdraw from life and take others for granted, barely register the passing of loved ones and the moving on of friends. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. What I liked about that was that it meant this story didn't fall into the sentimentality that plagues seasonal reads.

Also, you're not alone with our troubles - everyone has secret problems or worries they don't talk about and we often get so consumed with our own lives we forget that. In her busy life, while feeling sorry for herself Bin must prepare for Christmas without any joy or desire to celebrate.

With Christmas comes memories, good and bad, that can have a massive impact on the way the path of one's life can change. Though I gather this aversion was one symptom of her depression, resulting from repression of emotion, which becomes clear as the story unfolds. A tinsy sad but at last hopeful short story, to remember of all the human beings in our life whom we care about and not to forget the importance of small things and gestures.

I liked the way the main character’s very recent break-up is contrasted with all the commercial trappings of Christmas. It was an interesting idea - a woman stops and recoups following a crisis, finding herself again in every day tasks. While waiting for the 'prequel' to Rachel Joyce's "the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Frye", I purchased her short story," a faraway smell of lemon". A beautiful gem of a short story from Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Perfect.If we just think for a moment about the stresses relationships will have undergone these last 9 months - the loss of freedoms, our normal routines, all that this pandemic has wrought and continues to do so, the loss of people in our lives, whether temporary or with the finality of death - this little gem offers more than advice on how to cope with loss and grief.