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Learning by Heart
From acclaimed author Elizabeth Cooke comes a passionate, richly atmospheric novel set in England and Sicily about two women bound by blood—and the secret that could turn them into strangers
Zeph’s world is blown apart when she finds out that her husband, Nick, has been unfaithful. Devastated by his betrayal, she takes their two-year-old son and leaves. Hoping to find refuge at her mother’s farm, she instead finds a journal she wasn’t meant to see. Now Zeph views her parents and her childhood in a very different light and finds herself questioning everything she once believed about love and marriage.
Alternating between the perspectives of Zeph and her mother, Cora, and filled with breathtaking imagery and insight into the mysteries of romantic attraction, Learning by Heart is a powerful, deeply resonant novel about love, infidelity, passion, family, and literature. It is about the things we give up, the memories that sustain us, and the people we hold in our hearts forever.
Learning by Heart was shortlisted for the UK’s Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2007 in a group of works that the Bookseller praised as “bursting with unique characters, drama, wit and passion.”
Zeph’s world is blown apart when she finds out that her husband, Nick, has been unfaithful. Devastated by his betrayal, she takes their two-year-old son and leaves. Hoping to find refuge at her mother’s farm, she instead finds a journal she wasn’t meant to see. Now Zeph views her parents and her childhood in a very different light and finds herself questioning everything she once believed about love and marriage.
Alternating between the perspectives of Zeph and her mother, Cora, and filled with breathtaking imagery and insight into the mysteries of romantic attraction, Learning by Heart is a powerful, deeply resonant novel about love, infidelity, passion, family, and literature. It is about the things we give up, the memories that sustain us, and the people we hold in our hearts forever.
Learning by Heart was shortlisted for the UK’s Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2007 in a group of works that the Bookseller praised as “bursting with unique characters, drama, wit and passion.”
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
21 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth McGregor
14 books17 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Elizabeth McGregor is a pseudonym for Elizabeth Cooke. She also writes as Holly Fox.
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Elizabeth McGregor is a pseudonym for Elizabeth Cooke. She also writes as Holly Fox.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 11, 2020
Beautiful storytelling.
June 27, 2022
4 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Net wanneer de man van Zeph eindelijk succes heeft als schrijver, ontdekt ze dat hij een affaire heeft. Boos en verdrietig vertrekt Zeph naar het huis van haar moeder Cora. Maar in plaats van rust vindt ze er nog grotere verwarring. Ze krijgt het bewijs in handen dat haar eigen moeder ook een affaire heeft gehad, terwijl ze samen met haar man het eiland Sicilië bezocht. Een heftige, kortstondige affaire met een man die later een beroemde schrijver is geworden, een man die haar aanbad en haar nooit is vergeten.
Omdat ik "het ijskind" van zelfde auteur goed beschreven en interessant vind, besloot ik dit boek te gaan lezen. Het heeft mij echter minder kunnen boeien.
De inhoud vind ik te voorspelbaar en door onnodige uitstapjes in het verhaal haakte ik soms even af. Ik had dan echt mijn notitieblokje erbij nodig.
Daarnaast las het boek vrij gemakkelijk en vond ik het toch boeiend om door te lezen.
Het verhaal bestaat uit twee verhaallijnen, waarbinnen zich ook flashbacks en dromen afspelen, daarnaast nog een aantal dagboekfragmenten. Het geheel grijpt wel goed in elkaar.
Het is geen Ijskind maar zeker niet slecht.
Net wanneer de man van Zeph eindelijk succes heeft als schrijver, ontdekt ze dat hij een affaire heeft. Boos en verdrietig vertrekt Zeph naar het huis van haar moeder Cora. Maar in plaats van rust vindt ze er nog grotere verwarring. Ze krijgt het bewijs in handen dat haar eigen moeder ook een affaire heeft gehad, terwijl ze samen met haar man het eiland Sicilië bezocht. Een heftige, kortstondige affaire met een man die later een beroemde schrijver is geworden, een man die haar aanbad en haar nooit is vergeten.
Omdat ik "het ijskind" van zelfde auteur goed beschreven en interessant vind, besloot ik dit boek te gaan lezen. Het heeft mij echter minder kunnen boeien.
De inhoud vind ik te voorspelbaar en door onnodige uitstapjes in het verhaal haakte ik soms even af. Ik had dan echt mijn notitieblokje erbij nodig.
Daarnaast las het boek vrij gemakkelijk en vond ik het toch boeiend om door te lezen.
Het verhaal bestaat uit twee verhaallijnen, waarbinnen zich ook flashbacks en dromen afspelen, daarnaast nog een aantal dagboekfragmenten. Het geheel grijpt wel goed in elkaar.
Het is geen Ijskind maar zeker niet slecht.
February 16, 2023
Intergenerational cheating was ick. Fmc finds out mmc cheated (6 times, was obsessed with ow) and that she was the product of an affair her 30 yr old mom had with a 19 yr old. And both actions were kind of excused by the mom. “It’s not as bad as being abusive” (referring to her daughters husband cheating) and “I loved them both” (referring to her own affair). Made me uncomfortable. Also all the big revelations happened in the characters’ heads. Mmc getting his head out of his ass was only seen through his inner monologue. And since he still doesn’t know how to communicate I think it’s highly likely he’ll cheat again. Idk just not for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2016
Although I found this book a little confusing at the start with it keep flicking from past to present it did get better and in the end I did enjoy it. I am glad that I didn't give up on the book as I thought I would.
June 19, 2020
I wasn’t interested in Cora’s story, which I feel was the main storyline and therefore I found zaph and nicks story sorely lacking.
March 11, 2011
Learning By Heart was another library pick, another one I was pleased to bring home and discover is written by someone, Elizabeth McGregor, who has consistently good reviews on Amazon.
This is the book that referred to glass blowers in Murano, is set half in Italy, has two time lines and is about love affairs and lost children across the years. It has also, just for the record, a family with four sisters and a younger brother, marriages in jeopardy and is in fact threaded with a theme of synchronicity, of people just happening to meet people and be in places at the right moment :lol: Oh, and it has a couple with a young son and infertility to go along with it. Oh yes, and it starts with a mourning parade on Good Friday. You have to laugh.
So, you know ;)
I was surprised by how much I was drawn in to this; although it is essentially a book with 2 female characters at the centre, they are relatively hard to know; the book captures both at a ‘moment’ in their life and both are a little adrift in a mess of life and emotions. The story is told more by the 3 men who love them, two husbands and a lover. The plot unravels more of their lives - infidelity, infertility, loss and grief, love and rejection – than it does of the women. It is quite refreshing in a way (and I recognised something of one of them too, which made it all the more compelling) and certainly a different take on a well established format. It was subtly done and all the people and places felt very real, even if it was just a snapshot of lives.
The book is, essentially, the story of Cora and Zeph, at turning points in their life. It follows Cora through her first move from home, the shocking reality of being a single young woman in London and then the change that a safe and ordinary marriage brings. Half of the book is the journal of a man who loved her and the descriptions of Sicily really made me want to pack up and go immediately. I’ve got a feeling Italy is telling me I need to visit. For Zepf, the book is about finding her courage when her marriage fails and finding out more about her mother and everything that was hidden from view in her life.
I’d give this 8/10. I’m not sure I would need to read it again, or own it, but I’ll certainly read more by the author and I don’t hesitate to recommend. A very enjoyable read.
This is the book that referred to glass blowers in Murano, is set half in Italy, has two time lines and is about love affairs and lost children across the years. It has also, just for the record, a family with four sisters and a younger brother, marriages in jeopardy and is in fact threaded with a theme of synchronicity, of people just happening to meet people and be in places at the right moment :lol: Oh, and it has a couple with a young son and infertility to go along with it. Oh yes, and it starts with a mourning parade on Good Friday. You have to laugh.
So, you know ;)
I was surprised by how much I was drawn in to this; although it is essentially a book with 2 female characters at the centre, they are relatively hard to know; the book captures both at a ‘moment’ in their life and both are a little adrift in a mess of life and emotions. The story is told more by the 3 men who love them, two husbands and a lover. The plot unravels more of their lives - infidelity, infertility, loss and grief, love and rejection – than it does of the women. It is quite refreshing in a way (and I recognised something of one of them too, which made it all the more compelling) and certainly a different take on a well established format. It was subtly done and all the people and places felt very real, even if it was just a snapshot of lives.
The book is, essentially, the story of Cora and Zeph, at turning points in their life. It follows Cora through her first move from home, the shocking reality of being a single young woman in London and then the change that a safe and ordinary marriage brings. Half of the book is the journal of a man who loved her and the descriptions of Sicily really made me want to pack up and go immediately. I’ve got a feeling Italy is telling me I need to visit. For Zepf, the book is about finding her courage when her marriage fails and finding out more about her mother and everything that was hidden from view in her life.
I’d give this 8/10. I’m not sure I would need to read it again, or own it, but I’ll certainly read more by the author and I don’t hesitate to recommend. A very enjoyable read.
July 2, 2022
2,5⭐
Mitäköhän tästä oikein voisi sanoa... Ei nyt totaalisen huono kirja, mutta ei mitenkään erityisen hyväkään. Aika mitäänsanomaton. Kirjan pääjuonteena kulkevat sekä äidin että tyttären rakkaustarinat. Alussa kumpaakin tarinaa kasvatetaan paljon ja niihin kohdistetaan lukijan mielenkiinto. Lopussa kuitenkin kaikki kuitataan pikaisella ja ohkaisella (ja myös hyvin tylsällä) päätöksellä.
Mitäköhän tästä oikein voisi sanoa... Ei nyt totaalisen huono kirja, mutta ei mitenkään erityisen hyväkään. Aika mitäänsanomaton. Kirjan pääjuonteena kulkevat sekä äidin että tyttären rakkaustarinat. Alussa kumpaakin tarinaa kasvatetaan paljon ja niihin kohdistetaan lukijan mielenkiinto. Lopussa kuitenkin kaikki kuitataan pikaisella ja ohkaisella (ja myös hyvin tylsällä) päätöksellä.
May 19, 2019
Quite a nice, easy and entertaining book to read.
May 20, 2018
Hin und her zwischen kitsch und ok
August 1, 2018
Dit boek leest makkelijk weg maar heeft verder weinig om het lijf. Het boek gaat overigens niet over Zeph, maar over Cora en een klein beetje over Zeph. Niet de moeite waard om te lezen.
September 11, 2023
2 stars. Not a romance -- ambiguous ending as to whether the heroine gets back with her cheating husband. In my opinion, the hero is absolutely not redeemed and will cheat again. Here's why:
May 30, 2023
not really sure why the zeph took back the cheater. the author doesnt convinced me well, knowing how the author wrote the husband inner thought about that other women. he was soo in lust that he even promised her to leaved his wife just so he can stick his D (literally this happened) in one of their tryst. the other women even threatened to leave the husband if he doesnt promised her that. and he said yes. he even got jealous of her closeness w/another man. and he made her swear not to sleep w/that man. i mean... how you recovered from this info? swept it under the rug and labeled it as "lust"? as madness? ha! and the husband doesnt even look that guilty. when zepth confronted him, all he said was "dont take josh (their son)". a good weekly schedule after the divorced can solved this you knw. why should zepth took him back w/no effort at all? where's the grovel?.
also, this novel told waaayyyyy to much story about zepth mother's affair. like pages of pagess. and i got bored w/it, so i skipped it. why would i read the mother's affair romance, when the MC in this novel should be zepth and the cheating bastard. and ofcourse as a cheater herself, the mom advice zepth to take her husband back. as always. i rather read a story about zepth and how she took the cheater back (lack of process, grovel, and everything), instead of reading the past story of someone that already died. as always. the book that have a cheating theme, will never have a good plot to convinced us that the HEA between the wife and the cheater is accepted, so why not fill in w/another affair story from the mother's era? blagh...
also, this novel told waaayyyyy to much story about zepth mother's affair. like pages of pagess. and i got bored w/it, so i skipped it. why would i read the mother's affair romance, when the MC in this novel should be zepth and the cheating bastard. and ofcourse as a cheater herself, the mom advice zepth to take her husband back. as always. i rather read a story about zepth and how she took the cheater back (lack of process, grovel, and everything), instead of reading the past story of someone that already died. as always. the book that have a cheating theme, will never have a good plot to convinced us that the HEA between the wife and the cheater is accepted, so why not fill in w/another affair story from the mother's era? blagh...
July 25, 2013
nederlandse tittel : eiland van licht
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews