Author: Helen Cullen
Publication Information: Gradon House. 2019. 336 pages.
ISBN: 1525892088 / 978-1525892080
Book Source: I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.
Opening Sentence: "Love letters have only one hope for survival."
Favorite Quote: "You were my best friend. Whenever anyone hurt me, you made me better. Whenever I was scared, it was into your arms I ran. Whenever I was lost, you found me. So what do you do when the person you count on most in the world is the person that's hurting you? Where do you go? To whom do you turn?"
There is a song called Escape or The Pina Colada Song by Rupert Holmes. That is the soundtrack of this book for me. If you know the song, you know how that story ends. The question is ... how does the story of William Woolf end? The book itself poses the question.
"It wasn't just their physical selves that had changed, though, that part was easily understood; what confused him was trying to identify when their feelings had altered. Was it a million little incremental changes over a long period of time? Or something obvious he had missed. If their essential selves were still the same, couldn't they find each other again? Or had they traveled too far down separate roads to reconnect in a different but happier place?"
That question arises in so many relationships somewhere along the way. The story lies in what each person in the relationship does with that question. What decisions are made? What compromises? What mistakes? At some point, what is done that is irrevocable.
The fact that this is the main point of the book is not clear from the beginning. William Woolf works at the Dead Letters Depot, a final repository of letters that for some reason or another have been undeliverable. William's journey of self-reflection begins with letters addressed to "My Great Love." I expect the book to be more about the letters and the potential and the mystery of letters that never arrive. To me, the letter has the potential to change lives. In this day and age, letter writing is unfortunately a dying art. I know, however, that I have certain letters in my life that are a part of my history and that I will hold on to forever.
I am a little disappointed that this is not the direction the book takes. As it evolves into a book about relationships, the letters and the Dead Letter Depot becomes just the background environment. The story the book tells still has relevance and emotion for many people. It is just not the story I expected to read.
Intermingled with the story of the marriage is William and Clare's history and their individual disappointments with the direction life has taken. William's goals for developing his work at the Depot into more seems thwarted at every turn. Clare has given up her passion to purse a career that supports financial security. Loneliness exists in this togetherness, and loneliness leads to dreams and other decisions that do not belong in a marriage. At the same time, their history demonstrates what brought them together.
There is also no real surprise or twist to the story of that relationship. It is a quiet exploration of what it means to love in the context of a long-term marriage. In that, the book makes a sad statement. "... the older I get, I realize that love is not enough on its own. It's the day-to-day reality of living with someone that really counts? What's love got to do with it?" To me, it depends on the definition of love and commitment. Love should have everything to do with it just as I wish the Dead Letter Depot had more to do with this story.
There is a song called Escape or The Pina Colada Song by Rupert Holmes. That is the soundtrack of this book for me. If you know the song, you know how that story ends. The question is ... how does the story of William Woolf end? The book itself poses the question.
"It wasn't just their physical selves that had changed, though, that part was easily understood; what confused him was trying to identify when their feelings had altered. Was it a million little incremental changes over a long period of time? Or something obvious he had missed. If their essential selves were still the same, couldn't they find each other again? Or had they traveled too far down separate roads to reconnect in a different but happier place?"
That question arises in so many relationships somewhere along the way. The story lies in what each person in the relationship does with that question. What decisions are made? What compromises? What mistakes? At some point, what is done that is irrevocable.
The fact that this is the main point of the book is not clear from the beginning. William Woolf works at the Dead Letters Depot, a final repository of letters that for some reason or another have been undeliverable. William's journey of self-reflection begins with letters addressed to "My Great Love." I expect the book to be more about the letters and the potential and the mystery of letters that never arrive. To me, the letter has the potential to change lives. In this day and age, letter writing is unfortunately a dying art. I know, however, that I have certain letters in my life that are a part of my history and that I will hold on to forever.
I am a little disappointed that this is not the direction the book takes. As it evolves into a book about relationships, the letters and the Dead Letter Depot becomes just the background environment. The story the book tells still has relevance and emotion for many people. It is just not the story I expected to read.
Intermingled with the story of the marriage is William and Clare's history and their individual disappointments with the direction life has taken. William's goals for developing his work at the Depot into more seems thwarted at every turn. Clare has given up her passion to purse a career that supports financial security. Loneliness exists in this togetherness, and loneliness leads to dreams and other decisions that do not belong in a marriage. At the same time, their history demonstrates what brought them together.
There is also no real surprise or twist to the story of that relationship. It is a quiet exploration of what it means to love in the context of a long-term marriage. In that, the book makes a sad statement. "... the older I get, I realize that love is not enough on its own. It's the day-to-day reality of living with someone that really counts? What's love got to do with it?" To me, it depends on the definition of love and commitment. Love should have everything to do with it just as I wish the Dead Letter Depot had more to do with this story.
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