Publisher: Corgyn Publishing
It
gets to be boring to review Caren Werlinger’s books after a while. After it’s
been said a few times that her writing is magnificent, engrossing,
sophisticated and thought provoking, to say it again seems redundant. There is
a danger that people might not believe the reviews anymore. So, here is a new
word – consistently. Caren Werlinger’s books are consistently magnificent, engrossing, sophisticated and thought
provoking.
Neither Present Time is the story of
two women who are brought together by a book. Beryl Gray is a university
librarian who finds a book with a personal inscription in it and is driven to
find out more about the people involved. This leads her to Aggie Bishop and her
great-aunt Cory. Beryl and Aggie share the characteristic of being caregivers.
Beryl cares for practically everyone she knows and Aggie is trying to care for
Aunt Cory. Since Aunt Cory doesn’t think she needs any help, even though her
family is trying to institutionalize her and sell away the family home, Aggie’s
one case practically equals all of Beryl’s. Neither Beryl nor Aggie has been
able to sustain healthy relationships, but in learning Aunt Cory’s story, both
women will learn a great deal about themselves. Looking into the past will
cause them to examine the present with different eyes and will alter the lives
of all three women.
Werlinger
tells a good story, but what makes her book more appealing is the complexity of
what she presents. There is romance in the book, but romance is in the story
not THE story. There are messages and lessons to be learned while her
characters do a complex dance weaving together the themes, including moving
between different time periods. Werlenger’s talent is shown by the story being
real, but not preachy; complex, but easily understood; and peopled by
characters the reader probably knows.
Neither Present Time is like all of
Werlinger’s books, a good read.
