涙の味

by Rebecca Flanders

SHE GAVE HIM TWO GIFTS: HER LOVE AND SECOND SIGHT — Normally, Jennifer Kiel was the head librarian in the town of Southworth, Massachusetts, but on that bright autumn day Jennifer had donned cape and veil, transforming herself into Madame Voltaire, the fortune-teller of Southworth's annual fair. Somehow, Adam Wilson found his way to Madame Voltaire's tent - and two lives were changed forever.

For Jennifer, who suffered a "condition", who'd led a quiet life in which very little was allowed to happen, Adam was an unexpected gift. And for Adam, who'd been running away from himself, trying to outdistance time, Jennifer was the miracle he'd never thought he would find...

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First published June 1, 1984

About the author

aka Donna Ball, Donna Carlisle, Donna Boyd
With Shannon Harper as Leigh Bristol, Taylor Brady

Donna A. Ball born in 1951 in Georgia, USA. Her ancestors were one of the first pioneer families of North Georgia, and her family still lives on the land they purchased from the Cherokee in 1782.

Her first book was published in 1982 as Donna Ball, since them she has written over a dozen works of commercial fiction under her name and under diferent pseudonyms: Rebecca Flanders, Donna Carlisle and Donna Boyd. She also signed novels with Shannon Harper as Leigh Bristol and Taylor Brady. And a novel with Linda Dano as Felicia Gallant. She is known for her work in women’s fiction and suspense, as well as supernatural fantasy and adventure. Her novels have been translated into well over a dozen languages and have been published in virtually every country in the world. She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and has been featured in such publications as the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and even T.V. Guide. She is the holder of the Storytelling World award, 2001, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, 2000, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards for consecutive years 1991-1996, the Georgia Romance Writer’s Maggie Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times, among others.

Donna lives in a restored turn-of-the-century barn in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northeast Georgia with her dogs, they have won numerous awards for agility, obedience, and canine musical freestyle. Her hobbies include oil painting, hiking and dog obedience training.

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is very sad and ends in an HFN rather than HEA. It's the story of a young New England librarian living a staid life in the small, friendly community she was born into. Then, she meets the proverbial "dark, tall stranger" passing through town with his aptly named guard dog Bear, and it is a mutual coup de foudre. They are the epitome of opposites attract: while she has never ventured out of her community, not even a few miles onto the highway to discover a new restaurant, he has traveled all over the world as a professional photographer, from the Vietnam War to the Playboy Mansion. His latest efforts is to take photographs of a book on America, traveling from region to region to capture the places and people in every part of the country. Once he meets the heroine though, he stays put even going so far as to rent out the lakeside cottage next to her.

Though he is obviously enamored of her, he is always on the edge, forever on the brink of leaving, fighting his love for her even to the point of being very rude. Naturally, he is harboring a Deep Traumatik Seekret: He has cancer, caused by his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War and he doesn't want to start anything with the heroine that will leave her hurt and alone :(

Heroine is devastated but she strongly makes the point that no one can predict when they will go, everyone has to live with some hurt (she herself has been suffering from epilepsy all her life) and that they should cherish the time they have together, to live and love, instead of trying to escape it. Needless to say, the book ends on the rather sad, wistful note that they will stay together for however they have left to live, needing no one and nothing but for themselves and their love (yes get out your hankies).

A subplot of the story which was also very depressing is that a town busybody is trying to pull a Fahrenheit 451 on the public library books she deems "dirty" and 'immoral," you know like the works of JD Salinger and Thomas Wolfe *eye roll* The heroine, who is the town librarian, stands up to the bullies during a "library committee meeting" in a scene straight out of an old time Jimmy Stewart or Tom Hanks movie. She puts all the hypocrites on blast by pointing out that if they want to censor books that have sex, deviant behavior, and violence in them, they should start with the Bible! In this day and age which seems to have heralded a return to the Barbarian Invasions and the Dark Ages especially during school board meetings and voting booths across this country, the kind of well-intentioned but naive idealism displayed in this story only succeeded in making me more depressed :(

[Colleen Coughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the type of novel that, if you have empathy, will have you in tears. But this is balanced with some nicely done humor. Quick read.