Back to Her Future by Cary Hansson - #bookreview

Tuesday 14th January 1986

Dear Mery,

I'm writing this letter even though I haven't got your address. Mum says she's sure we'll get one soon. I thought I'd write because otherwise I'm going to forget all the things I need to tell you. It's been twenty-four days already and I miss you.

***

Meryem has learned to look out for number one.

Abducted as a teenager from England to Turkey, where she was forced to marry a man twice her age, thirty years later she is finally free to live life on her own terms.

She is divorced and wealthy, working a lucrative job in Dubai when a whispered confession from her dying father turns her world upside down, and sets her on a path to discover the truth.

The first step is a return to London, and her childhood best friend, Alma.

But the women, once so close, struggle to reconnect as forgotten memories and shocking revelations surrounding Meryem's abduction, tear open unhealed wounds for both of them.

 Beautifully and boldly written, Cary J Hansson merges history, everyday circumstances and aching tragedy into an unforgettable narrative.

Back to Her Future is the compelling first novel in The Gen X Series of women’s contemporary fiction. If you like scarred but resilient heroines, nostalgic interludes, and transformative epiphanies, then you’ll love The Gen X Series.

***

Wow! It is rare that I begin a review with such an expression but on this occasion there is no other word which will do. This is a fantastic novel and was easily a five star read for me.

I have previously read all three books in the author's Midlife series and I am posting links to my review of each of those books below. I really enjoyed all three of them and highly recommend them. 

When I picked this book up, I was expecting it to be as good. However, my expectations were surpassed. In Back to Her Future, the first in a new series, Ms Hansson writes with depth and self assuredness and it is a delight to witness how accomplished her writing has become.

She has delved deeply into the complex lives of the three women in the book, Meryam, Alma and Sammy, who were friends as children. Life has taken them in very different directions and when they come together again as adults, it is not without problems.

The author demonstrates a depth of understanding of her characters. Each of them is complex in her own way, and I enjoyed the way in which the author brings the three of them to a point of understanding of one another, and themselves.

There are some difficult themes running throughout this book but there is nothing gratuitous and they are dealt with sensitively and compassionately. The story also looks at identity and culture and how they make us act.

However, the thing that is common to all these women is the guilt that they carry for one reason or another. Add to that themes of motherhood, friendship and forgiveness along with some excellent writing and you have a superb book.

The narrative is written through prose and a series of letters from the past and this permits the reader to understand the situation from differing perspectives.

All in all, this is an excellent book which I highly recommend. I can hardly wait for the second book in the series.

ISBN: 978 9152786017

Publisher:  Hansson Publishing

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  326 (paperback)

Links to Previous Reviews

A Midlife Holiday

A Midlife Baby

A Midlife Gamble

About the Author:

Cary’s  work has been shortlisted in national and international competitions. She writes for various publications, digital and print. She lives in Stockholm, where she enjoys a glass of wine and a cold water swim daily, but not in that order.

(book and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)