The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (Walker
Books)
HC
RRP $19.95
ISBN
9781406348088
Reviewed
by Anastasia Gonis
This
extraordinary and mesmerising generational saga carries themes of love, loving,
betrayal, and human weakness. We travel from France to Seattle with these sharp
and escalating emotions that belong to the Roux family, throughout their search
for happiness.
On
the night that Ava Lavender was born, all the birds in the neighbourhood acted
strangely. Her being born with wings seemed to have been preordained in some
way. It is Ava’s search for identity and a way to fit into a normal life that
appears to be the major story. But it’s not only about Ava. It is about all the
women of her family tree; all the loves they lost, and what they became because
of these loves and losses. With them come all the myths and stories attached to
these fractured lives, and the heartbreaking climax of how they finally came
together again.
To
try to encompass all that is in this book in a review is impossible. It’s
hugely imaginative and deeply moving. Compiled of so many layers and
sub-stories, any attempt to describe it hardly does it justice. It’s magical
realism at its best. First time author Leslye Watson has created a masterpiece
of beauty and fascination, and one of the finest pieces of writing, research
and creativity that I have ever read.
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