Review: Perdita by Hilary Scharper

Title: Perdita    

Author: Hilary Scharper     

Published: January 2015, Sourcebooks Landmark  

Format: ARC E-book, 448 pages    

Source: Netgalley   

In this haunting tale of past and present, Garth uncovers the secret to longevity, and the mystical power of love

On
assignment to interview the oldest people on the planet, historian
Garth Hellyer meets Marged Brice, a spirited woman who claims to be 134
years old. Upon their first meeting, Marged insists that she is ready to
die, but the mysterious Perdita is keeping her alive. She entrusts
Garth with her diary, which connects him to the early 1900s and to
Perdita, a supernatural presence who gives the gift of love.

When
Garth falls for the beautiful art historian Claire, Marged gives
Perdita to him, but in order to be truly fulfilled, he must first make
himself worthy of the gift…

My thoughts: As soon as I read the description of this book, I knew I wanted to read it. I was quite intrigued by the premise of it and it surely lived up to it’s expectations. From the first page I was hooked and was engrossed all the way through.

I loved the use of journals to transport us back to the early 1900s to tell Marged’s life. It nicely juxtaposes the present day story of Garth meeting Marged at the supposed age of 134. Having these two stories being told at the same time, I found myself wanting to know more of each when it would switch to the other, but I have to be honest and say I was a bit more invested with the present-day story – that of Garth. I was particularly interested in what was going to happen with him and Claire and wanted more of their story!

I did find the inclusion of the Greek mythology to be quite interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve studied mythology, so I’m a bit rusty on it all, but nevertheless, it’s still fun to read about it. If I had the time, I’d love to go back and study up on it all and will certainly add it to my bucket list of things to get to one of these days.

Canadian geography is not something I am overly familiar with, despite having family living there. I’ve only been to Canada once, to Nova Scotia, but I did enjoy the beautiful, descriptive writing and would love to visit the Georgian Bay coast, just to see where this story takes place. 

This is the type of book that I think I might have to reread to fully appreciate every nuance of the book. While I did enjoy it, I felt that I might have missed a thing or two. Perhaps after brushing up on my Greek mythology, I’ll pick this up again, and have a better appreciation of exactly who and what Perdita is. Have you ever read a book where you felt that a reread will give you a better sense of the overall feel for the book?

***Be sure to check out the guest post by Hilary Scharper that I posted the other day, along with an excerpt and a chance to win 1 of 3 signed copies of Perdita! The link can be found here.