The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von ArnimMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an absolutely delightful novel! I have craved wisteria and sunshine, especially during the capricious Aprils of Western Canada, where we are as likely to get 30 cm of snow as to get sunshine. And there is nothing like new surroundings to help people let go of their poses and to become more of themselves.
It was a treat to get to know Lotty, Rose, Lady Caroline, and Mrs. Fisher, brought together by a newspaper advertisement and getting to know one another in Italy. Lotty becomes the catalyst for change, by changing herself, showing how it can be done and what happiness it brings. She begins the trip desperately desiring to get away from her husband and ends up happy with him again. Even in the early 20th century, before the internet & social media or the 24/7 work expectation, women still felt the need to escape their responsibilities from time to time.
Rose transforms from a grimly religious woman into a loving wife and even Mrs. Fisher realizes that she has been prematurely living in a mausoleum. If only a month away truly had such alchemical properties. Mind you, some of my fondest memories were spent with four women friends at a cabin that one of us owned. We would breakfast, birdwatch, picnic, declare happy hour, and take turns cooking delicious dinners to relax over at day's end, only to get up and repeat the process the next day. As Lotty says, heaven. Actually, that's what my friend used to call her cabin, Heaven.
I wish I could have read this during April, as I had planned but it was still an absolute delight.
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