Lesia Daria: Forty One

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The latest addition to my website is Lesia Daria‘s Forty One. This is a novel by a woman born in the USA, of Ukrainian parents but currently living in the UK. Her heroine, Eva Holden, is, however, Polish, albeit with Ukrainian grandparents and living in the UK. Eva is an intelligent and educated woman but stuck at home with two young children while her husband, Harry, a lawyer, spends most of his time working in Eastern Europe. When he does phone, they often argue. They have a Plan, for Harry to make money with the good salary he is getting, free of UK tax, and then for him to come back to the UK as a partner in the law firm so that they can all live happily ever after. However, life is not so simple and Eva is resentful of being stuck in a house in Surrey. When her former French boyfriend appears on the scene, still interested, even though he is married, she is tempted. When they go to Poland for Christmas, another ex-boyfriend appears, also still interested and also married. At this point, things change dramatically for Eva and she struggles to cope with finding out what she really wants in life and how to get it. Daria tells her story very well and, from a slow start, we follow Eva as the randomness in her life (as she calls it) drags her further down and various unexpected life events disrupt her further.

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