Two Brits keep missing each
other--and their chance for true and lasting love--over the course of 16 years.
Two young Brits repeatedly meet by chance but chronically fail to
connect in Kate Eberlen's captivating
first novel, Miss
You. Their circuitous journey starts in summer 1997, when Tess
and her best friend are traveling after high school graduation. In Florence,
they cross paths with Gus, also a recent high school grad, who is traveling
with his parents after the tragic death of his brother, the favorite son. A
simple search for gelato first brings Tess and Gus together, but their
encounter is fleeting because he feels inhibited in the presence of his
parents. They return separately to London, and Gus heads to university to study
medicine. Meanwhile, Tess defers academia because her mother dies after a
battle with cancer; Tess must assume the care of her five-year-old sister,
Hope, who has Asperger syndrome.
What ensues is a compelling story--told in alternating
points-of-view--about the sense of responsibility and guilt inflicted upon
both. Miss You maps Gus and Tess's crisscrossing
journeys over 16 years. They briefly meet again at London coffee shops, a
Rolling Stones concert in Glastonbury and when Gus's children get temporary
tattoos at the salon Tess manages. Detours, distractions, sacrifices and bad
choices lead to life-changing betrayals by friends and lovers. This episodic,
detail-rich narrative breeds suspense as readers grow eager to learn if fate
will ever allow these two lost souls--who often feel trapped by the elusive
nature of love and happiness--finally to find each other.
Harper,
$25.99 Hardcover,
9780062460226, 448 pages
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
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NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness:
Reader's Edition (April 28, 2017), link HERE.