Book Synopsis:

PAL is a fast-paced yet poignant character-driven novel riding waves of romance, drama, and wit in a manner reminiscent of David Nicholls’s books (One Day)—and set in the exciting world of several vibrant Romanian artists and musicians.

Henriette, an accomplished sculptor, seems to find more joy in her feminist-inspired work and her piano playing than in the people who care about her. Ela, a piano teacher turned book reviewer, hopes to discover the key to happiness and a more meaningful life through studying the workings of the mind and crafting poems about emotions she trusts will lead her to a better place. Joining them in beauty and blindness is Pamfil, a violinist who dabbles as a singer and lives mostly for the moment and his monthly parties. As they follow their passions, they find themselves on treacherous journeys to love and happiness, and are slow to figure out how to best tackle their predicaments. Fortunately, their lovers and friends are there to help . . . but then a newcomer complicates things.

Book Review:

When Mira Tudor contacted me through this Blog to see if I would be interested in reading and reviewing her book I accepted because I enjoy reading books from different genres (even if YA books are my favorites), also because I was intrigued about the way she described me the book “Contemporary women’s lit, looking for a balance somewhere between commercial and literary” and because I have an appreciation for Arts in its different expressions.

The story follows the lives of a group of Romanian artists and jumps between present and past in a way were you can learn about how the different characters met.

The writing style itself is good and I liked the references to different arts expressions (music, poetry, sculpture) and to some artists and writers that you can find through the book.

I highlighted many quotes while reading this book, among them the following by a character named Anca:

“ De gustibus”, Anca said: “We sometimes need sadness in order to tease away sadness”. 

In this book some of the characters struggle with the realities of adult life, intricate relationships and finding a balance and at times they seem to be experiencing some kind of existential crisis (also they seem to enjoy having a lot of intellectual and kind of philosophical discussions).

I finished the book, but I feel like I didn’t really “connect” with the main characters, also there is one male character whose appeal I just “didn’t get” and I would have liked to have a little more background story of characters like George and Haralambie.
Maybe this book could appeal more to people interested in Literary Fiction or as an exercise in analysis behind the motivations and psychology of the characters.

“I received from the author a gift card to purchase the ebook via Amazon in exchange for an honest review”.