A Time to Tell

by Maria Savva

Set between the 1950s and the start of the 21st Century, "A Time to Tell" is the poignant story of Cara, from her dramatic attempted suicide to her roles as a smitten eighteen-year-old, wife, widow and grandmother, and her final, passionate reunion with the man she has always loved. It is also the parallel tale of Cara's prodigal son Benjamin and his daughter Penelope, whose unhappy relationship with her father has led her into marriage with a man whose own dysfunctional family have turned him into a person who at first seems strangely attractive, but turns out to have a dark and terrifying side... Rich in colourful characters and pertinent social themes, "A Time to Tell" is an eventful and often disturbing tale of the pain and pleasures of family relationships.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Modern, Ebooks

298 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2006

About the author

Writer of novels and short stories, multi-genre. Maria's short stories have appeared in the BestsellerBound anthologies and the Mind's Eye Series of books, as well as the online magazine The Write Launch: http://thewritelaunch.com/

Maria is also a music blogger at the Real Rock And Roll blog: https://realrockandroll.wordpress.com/

Look out for current news about her writing on her website: http://www.mariasavva.com

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time to Tell (Maria Savva)
A fantastic story. Spanning from the 1950's to present A time to tell is the story of one family's life. Set right in the center is the Matriarch Cara. She has a deep secret that has haunted her, and is still doing so to this day. Her children each have their own inner demons they must conquer and face. This family is torn apart due to this past sin and Cara is determined to somehow pull them all back together to what they once were. But can she pull off this seemingly impossible feat?

Heartfelt and emotional, Ms. Savva takes us back in time and into the hearts and minds of her unforgettable characters. History (At times) seem to repeat them-self, and we watch each person with their inner struggle trying to come to terms with their past, which bleeds into the present affecting the future. A Time to tell shows what can happen when secrets are kept, communication is lost, and "grudges" are held. Page turner for sure, and a definite all night read. I look forward to reading more of Maria Savva' s work !!

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a family! Everyone has his or her own dysfunctional way of dealing with a situation whether it is suicide, alcoholism or abuse. Each person's inability to cope is fascinating, while at the same time, mundane. Assumingly set in an average class of people, the seemingly extraordinary behavior becomes ordinary. What happens within the family and behind closed doors is swept away and neatly hidden, or expressed as a private matter that will be dealt with, but never really is. The people presumably in control are actually out of control. Finger pointing, guilt and denial add to the cyclic, repetitious story that plagues the family for generations. This disconnect is well portrayed and leaves the reader questioning who is to blame and wondering who is truly responsible?

The only drawback is the repetition does become a little redundant, but this is a matter of style and personal taste. I interpret it as a creative liberty and can appreciate the approach rather than be critical of the sentence structure. The content is there and upon further examination I think the style could be an interesting topic for discussion. How does it add or distract from the telling of the story?

[Paul Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time To Tell is the spellbinding story of Cara Hughes, and the dark secrets that plague her and her family. From the time she first falls in love, and that relationship’s tragic ending, to meeting her first love again as an elderly woman, we are transported as voyeurs through the heartbreak of Cara’s life.

Now, confined to a wheelchair, Cara must confront the torrent of problems that have coursed their way down through her family, washing over each in turn, inflicting suffering on those she truly cares for. After years of heartache and denial, Cara must finally face her own role in the circumstances of her life. She must bring her own hidden secrets out into the light of familial scrutiny.

Maria Savva weaves a tapestry of misfortune and turmoil that draws you in and drapes you in its story. Each throw of the weaver’s shuttle brings out another detail of the emotional hardships of Cara and her family’s lives, forcing them further from each other and closer to your own heart. Savva’s mastery of dialogue allows you to live inside this woven fabric of Cara’s world and feel the genuine sorrow of each character.

A Time To Tell is a book not to be missed.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my latest novel. 'A Time to Tell' is a romantic drama/family saga which spans 50 years and three generations of the same family. It is the tale of Cara, an elderly woman who has regrets about secrets she has kept from her family. As the novel progresses, we see how these secrets may have affected the lives of her loved ones, and she reaches a point in her life when she feels that she must reveal all, even though it is the last thing she wants to do. It is also a story about Cara's granddaughter Penelope who is the victim of domestic violence, will she be able to escape her marriage before it is too late? There is also a love story theme running through the novel as Cara is about to be reunited with her first love, a man she has not seen for 50 years; a man she has never forgotten. It has received great reviews and has been compared to such diverse works as 'The Thorn Birds', 'A Yellow Raft in Blue Water', 'East of Eden' and 'A Child Called It' and the writing style has been compared to Maeve Binchy and the Brontes.

[Jen Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time to Tell is a great book. The story is multi-faceted: part mystery, part love story, part psychological thriller. I loved the swift touch Savva seemed to have with her scenes, painting them in soft, wide strokes that caused this reader to feel comfortable to lose myself in the scene without being over-burdened by detail or under-burdened by sloppy writing.
The only minor complaint I had was with the perspective shifts. When visiting Cara's past, we're in italics, and thrust as though into a memory, which sometimes add a sense of urgency, but I found it slightly distracting to the telling of this tale. All in all, a great book though, one that makes me want to read more of this writer.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful & Emotional Insight Into Relationships & Forgiveness

Wow!‘A time To Tell’ is a potent story that packs a punch. From the very beginning, we are drawn in by Cara Hughes dramatic, failed suicide attempt. What follows is an emotionally charged page turner spanning over 50 years of Cara’s life. Maria Savva is an exceptional storyteller, bringing the many colorful characters to life as they face some of the darker issues, which trouble today’s society. Abusive relationships, secrets, betrayal and ultimately forgiveness is wrapped up this wondrous tale of family life.

I highly recommend this great novel to all.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time to Tell raises important issues surrounding what has been named ‘domestic violence’. It was interesting (and sad) to see how history repeated itself throughout the generations, echoing the tragic dilemma of humankind.

However, the switch between ‘times’ was cleverly done in this sophisticated story of Cara and her family, giving a good insight into the relationships to which we can all relate.

A Time to Tell has a great prologue that creates enough intrigue to pull in the reader and has a fabulous twist at the end.

[Jerry Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book, I ordered two more! I've already got a person in mind to send one of the extras to, and the other I'll keep around for the future. (I almost always keep a copy of anything I've read, for reference.)

Within the pages of "A Time to Tell", intertwined with a compelling story, is the stark reality of domestic violence. From time to time, I do a little psychological counseling for people who either can't afford or won't go to see a professional counselor, and I can't think of a better way to educate them about the psychology of mental and physical abuse, than to read this book. Presented, as it is, in the context of an engaging novel, it's much more likely to be read and comprehended than dry pamphlets, self-help or psychological textbooks.

Quite frankly, as a writer myself I'm a bit envious of Maria Savva's storytelling and writing ability. The last ten chapters build steadily towards the story's climax and the book got very difficult to put down. Her use of foreshadowing is blatantly obvious in some places, and skillfully subtle in others, providing a real life feel to the story. (Sometimes we know what's coming, and other times we get totally blindsided.) For instance, Gloria's self-righteous meddling in her sister's affairs turns out to be at the root of many of Cara's problems. In later life, Gloria realizes she has a lot to be forgiven for and does patch a few things up with Cara. Yet we're left with the feeling that she hasn't quite come clean, though we have no idea what she still might be holding back. All gets revealed in the end, but not by Gloria. I thought revealing a little, but not too much, skillfully accomplished this, so that the story develops naturally towards its surprising conclusion.

I love stories like this where you can learn things of practical value, while you're being recreationally entertained. This is not fantasy, which does provide escapism, but leaves you ill equipped to deal with the real world. Books like this should be required reading for graduation from high schools everywhere, and on the reading list of anyone who wants to live in a better world.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sweeping saga, Maria Savva beautifully captures family dynamics, the secrets we keep from the people we love, and the damage caused by the lies we tell.

Cara is the family matriarch, and on the surface she is not particularly likable. Then we look deeper and we see her damaged spirit. We find the broken part of her, long buried, and we learn how one event, one misunderstanding, changed everything. Cara covers her pain with strength, but also with secrets and lies.

Cara's family, her children and their children, live in the shadow of her deception. When events force Cara to face that long ago truth she'd been hiding, the pieces of this story come together in surprising ways.

This story is dramatic and sad, but also full of hope. It made me think about my own family dynamics, and about the things that shape the people we become.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel about secrets. It begins with Cara as a young woman attempting suicide, and most of the novel takes place in Cara's old age, as many of the secrets within her family begin to unravel.

From the first scene, the first big secret is born. Cara is attempting suicide because she's discovered that her lover Frederick is a married man. She then quickly marries Billy, the man who saved her from drowning. But what she can never admit to anyone is her suspicion that their first child, Benjamin, is Frederick's not Billy's.

By the end of Cara's life, the secrets have multiplied, but in a sense many of them can be traced logically back to that original secret. Benjamin always feels like an outsider in the family and is bullied at school for looking different from his two other siblings. He develops violence and 'toughness' as a defence, and soon gets into trouble. He later beats up his wife so badly that he almost kills her, and goes into hiding for years. Later on his daughter, having grown up in an atmosphere of domestic violence and then missing her absent father, marries a man who is just like Benjamin and abuses her.There are many more secrets in the novel - almost every character has one, including Cara's sister Gloria and the unexplained events around the death of Cara's friend Beattie (perhaps this, actually, is the original secret from which the others come).

What I liked about the book was that, when it does finally become the "time to tell" all the secrets, the results are often unexpected. I was afraid that it might be a sort of morality tale where, once the secrets are revealed and the characters face up to the truth, everything is neatly resolved. But it happens more subtly than that, and so feels more true to life. Sometimes the characters are able to forgive, and at other times they are not. Their reactions feel real.

There are also some great evocations of place, particularly 1950s Huddlesea, where you can really feel the claustrophobia of living in a town where everybody knows everything about everyone else and judges them on any mistake.

Sometimes I felt that the characters' motivations or feelings were spelled out, rather than being hinted at and left to the reader to discover. For example, when Cara is living with her granddaughter Penelope, it's immediately made clear that her husband David is abusive, so the description of his violence afterwards feels a bit predictable. I would have preferred to be presented with the facade of a happy family and discover the truth gradually, through Cara's growing suspicions.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were believable, and the description of a family's secrets and the way they build on each other was convincing and memorable.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found A Time to Tell compelling and looked forward to reading it every day, (I very often found it difficult to put down! Always a good indication of a good read.) It is a solid, complex story that rolls along with a steady, and at times, breathless pace. It has a distinct, emotional voice that speaks from Cara’s point of view that is clearly from her generation. Cara is hobbled by the psychological second-guessing of her actions in the past, which is a chronic aspect of the human condition, we’re all guilty of some bad decision that we regret, and it’s painful to fess up because we fear how others will react to such news. The occasional shift to a different character’s perspective to examine another side to the story is an element that I appreciate (because there’s always more than one side to a story), but it wasn’t consistently used enough throughout to be a natural rhythm of the narrative, therefore, it caused a few ‘wait a minute’ wobbles for me, mostly because Cara’s presence is so dominate. There were times I wished that the telling of the story could have slowed down a little, sometimes I felt a bit hungry for more “meat”, but that’s just me, I enjoy gnawing on well written details. I felt this way especially in places where it was rapid-fire dialogue as it careened toward the end; I found myself skittering along looking for a place to catch my mental breath. When I reached the end, I said “Whew!” And then proceeded to back-track to reread what I just went through, I saw that all the pieces to the puzzle were there, but they fit loosely. Looking back further, there is a distinct difference between the earlier chapters of the book and the last ten or so. I’m not saying that this is bad or good, as I’ve found this style in other books as well, the endings tend to be more streamlined to herd the reader toward the finish. The ending itself was cleanly broken off, leaving the reader with a sense that life (such as it is) goes on after the book is finished, even though it isn’t quite a pretty picture, but the implication is there that things will be all right (eventually)—the beauty of art imitating life, a timeless and contemporary novel. I say again, Well done, Maria Savva! (Rating: four stars out of five.)

[Katherine Marple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria Savva's A Time To Tell was beautifully written. It's a story that follows an aging old woman who travels through all her memories in present tense. It's about losing love- making sacrifices- learning to love again- caring for people who make mistakes- forgiveness- and learning to accept others, including all of their falicies.

A Time To Tell was also about miscommunication. In the story, we witness Cara, the aging storyteller, being neglected. She is old and has mulitple sclerosis, so cannot take care of herself. However, her mind is in full capacity and is reeling from memories that have shaken up her life and resurfaced over a short period of a few months. It seems that all comes crashing down at the same time. Loss of a family member, divorces within her children's lives, abuse, neglect and recovery. It seems that no one is really listening to her, or to her needs. Most of the story takes place in her thoughts- she hardly ever speaks her mind.

This is frustrating for me to read because I like to say what I think. I'm just that kind of person. I wanted to scream at her: "Tell them! Tell them what you really think and how they are making you feel!" No one deserves to be ignored.

Many of the characters are so caught up in their own lives that they simply don't see what is all around them.
Forgiveness is a very difficult trait to learn... and then to take use of.

A Time To Tell, I feel, is completely about forgiveness. Many things take place in a person's life. The decisions are made at the time, with what information is held on hand, and with the resources that are available.

It leads to my personal motto: "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Live and let live. Forgive and move on. You cannot stew forever on what "could have been." It is, and you can't change it. You can only learn to live with the situation and cope with its consequences.

Savva writes to open your heart, open your mind, and allows you to see inside the lives of her main character, Cara.
Lovely.

[Tiffini Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a complicated family!

It is also a book whose topics (domestic abuse primarily) that need to be discussed in ways such as Savva has done. It's told in a voice that most of us can relate to in at least some way. She paints very good descriptions and draws very realistic people for whom the reader can easily feel for. I wish that the back and forth POVs were a little easier to follow: assuming you're in one POV because the words are italicized and then learning you're not in the perspective you thought you were in can be a bit distracting. That aside, however, it is a worthy and interesting story.

I like the way it opened with a secret that many women (particularly young adult women) can relate to. Myself not being one of them, I have still had the opportunity to see many young women taken by surprise by pregnancy and been forced to make decisions that impact the lives of so many people for eternity. This is part of what this book is about: how one decision, one event, can act as a domino effect, creating additional pain and lies and problems for generations to come.

I was concerned that the ending might be rushed, but it wasn't: the pacing throughout was exactly where it should be and I, as a reader, stayed engaged and intrigued throughout the novel.

Well done!

[Trish Lamoree · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exploration of how being a victim once can cascade throughout generations within the same family, each generation sure that theirs is the only one with the problem. Maria Savva explores the depth of both the abuser and the abused without the great dramatics of Oprah. Instead, she steps into the issues softly and gently as if your grandmother's hand led you to discover the deepest secrets that no one ever really should have kept.

A Time to Tell flows perfectly between the time lines of all three generations. Through the eyes of the crippled and gentle matriarch of the family, we are led into the very depths of each individual. This is not a matriarch that complains loudly, but instead watches in a confused helplessness as her children and her children's children work through issues that take lifetimes to accumulate and heartache to unravel.

Beautifully written. Wonderfully understanding of the real issues of abuse from so many perspectives. While it doesn't rage with Oprah's talk show melodramatics, it should be on Oprah's to be read list.

[Dionne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book as I have never read anything from this author before, but I’m so glad I did. It’s been the first book in a while that I couldn’t put down. I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen to the characters. If I had to label it, I would say family drama, contemporary.

There was always a lot going on, and a lot of it sad. I admit, at times, I did think that too much was going wrong—but thinking about what has happened to many people I know, I realised it never rains, it pours. The story was believable and unfolds at a good pace. The author deals realistically with themes of domestic violence, difficult familial relationships and the fact that so many people live their lives because of others’ expectations. As much as I raced to get there, I was sad to reach the end, because I wanted to watch their lives continue to unfold. I will certainly be reading more of Maria Savva’s work.

[Andrea Howarth-Salazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this - I read 'A Time to Tell' in just one day. I found that I really identified with Cara from beginning to end and shared her feelings throughout her rollercoaster ride of family revelations! There was a sense of deep satisfaction in the ending when Cara was reunited with Frederick. The plot is complex and the themes socially relevant, but in the end it was the character and feelings of Cara that hooked me and I found myself reading on to find out what would happen to her next. The flashbacks add a deeper dimension to the story, helping the reader to contextualise the characters' feelings. 'A Time to Tell' is almost like a Victorian novel in the way it examines a character's history within a complex social network and a tangled web of relationships - Cara's history is full and fascinating.

[Calum · Rating 5 out of 5]

'A Time to Tell'is a very well written book that tells the fictional story of a girl called Cara through her life span from teenager wife widow to grandmother. It is a story of loverelationships and the dark side of domestic violence. This is an eventful story which is sad and disturbing at times. The story is carefully written in respect to some what disturbing issues that can unfortunately occur within some relationships. Domestic violence is not often talked about openly within our society. Maria Savva through this excellent book exposes this difficult subject area in a realistic and sensitive manner. This book should be read by all.

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time To Tell spans one Familys life from the 1950's to the present. Set in the center is Cora the Matriarch. She has a deep secret that haunts her still to this day. Her children have their own inner demons they must face and conquer. The family is torn apart due to this last sin and Cora is determined to somehow pull them all back together as a family again. But can she pull off this impossible feat? An emotional heartfelt read. Ms Savva takes us into the hearts and minds of her characters. A time to tell shows what can happen when secrets are kept grudges held and communication is lost. I look forward to reading more books by Maria Savva

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy horrible, melodramatic soap opera of a book...enough said...

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting tale of family secrets and domestic abuse. Another change of pace for me from the whdunits I'm so fond of.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can people change: A Time To Tell by Maria Savva
So many families can resonate with this book. Can people change? Can families mend? The circa from 1950's Cara's teen years ( the main character) to now her golden years. We read how events within a family shapes others futures within the family. Domestic abuse is a horrible thing for families to go through. My heart was broken many times reading this. Cara has lived through a broken heart since her teen years. The secrets she kept, the secrets her sister Gloria kept shaped their families for generations. Download and find out what the characters teach us. Full of realistic characters, a page turner for sure.

[Maria Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Time To Tell is part mystery, part romance, part character study, and I really enjoyed it. It’s an insightful and piercing look at a family where secrets and lies have shaped people’s lives for decades, and about what happens when those lies and secrets are exposed. The main character Cara, carries a very big and very heavy secret from her past: it’s a secret that weighs her down with regret and sorrow and even anger, but as dark as that secret is, there are also brighter memories of love and happiness wrapped up in it.

As the story unfolds, it also becomes clear that it isn’t just Cara who has been keeping secrets and telling lies: many others in her family have done the same, and each lie and each secret has had a profound impact that reverberates through the years and decades.

The book carefully and skillfully unwraps each deep, dark secret as the story twists and turns through Cara’s life and the lives of her extended family, flashing between the present and the past. Maria Savva’s writing is fluid and flowing, as she gently and perceptively peels back the layers of deception and deceit within each character, and within the family as a whole. Her way of seeing people, of describing them as they are – with flaws and strengths, light and darkness – really appeals to me.

A Time To Tell has a great, complex love story at its heart, but more than that, it is a perceptive character study of ordinary people caught up in difficult circumstances. It’s a great read, and I highly recommend it.

[J. King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled a great deal with this book: I was slow getting into it; the characters at times seemed to behave randomly; I found numerous missed story opportunities (e.g., that looking after Cara might have been just the thing to treat Tom's depression, that Cara might have required a fundamental shift in how she saw herself before she forgave Gloria); some of the prose felt overly expositional (sequences of "Who cares?" with bits of "Wow!" in between); I often felt the characters changed their perspectives with little provocation; coincidental meetings piled implausibly one upon the other, pushing the plot along.

But in another way, this book represents the best quality indie fiction has to offer, that is says something about real life. Real people react to their perceived needs, but we usually don't know what those needs are. We think we do, but we're usually wrong. So they appear to react randomly, and they often react counter to their own good sense. This story is a picture of what can happen when distance is allowed to dominate a family. We get used to it, forget that it can be any different, and always blame everyone else for our part in perpetuating it.

[Alan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high expectations of this book, too high as it turns out. Reviews and star ratings indicated a worthwhile exploration into the nature of family secrets and domestic violence. By page 100 I gave up in disappointment having suffered through paper thin characters, all too speedy resolutions of conflicts and secrets and the implausible re-emergence of a lost acquaintance, all of which are more suited to a poor tv soap than a highly acclaimed book.

Having read again through the reviews on this site I notice that the author has chosen to use it to promote her book as well as affording it a 5 star rating on not one but 2 occasions. Personally I find this disingenuous and against what I consider to be ethos of what goodreads is about not least because it distorts the overall star rating of the book Bronte and Steinbeck it is not.

[Klaudyna Z. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't figure out why everybody gave this book such high ratings. I didn't like a single character in this book. They all had secrets that they were keeping from one another. I felt like Cara didn't have the balls to own up to her mistakes and I couldn't believe that she acted like she didn't care about how her son Ben was abusive and almost killed his first wife. I thought Penelope was too pushy and Gloria was just a bitch. The ending was terrible too because I felt like there was no real closure between Frederick and Cara. I did not like this book at all and I would not recommend it.

[Dierdra McGill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Time to Tell was not a page turner but the story was enough to hold my interest. Parts got repetitive and boring for me and at times I just did not like the characters at all. This was more in the second half of the book as I did enjoy the first half but I really did not care for the "twist" and the ending.
Overall I probably would not recommend this book but I did enjoy the first half so felt like I should at least do 3 stars.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was okay but the characters...... There wasn't a single one I liked. They all kept secrets, saw how others secretly adversely affected people and then still kept their mouths shut. They just buried their heads in the sands. It takes passive aggressive to a whole new level. And it gets two 5 star reviews from the author on good reads. What's up with that?

[Liza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book. I thought it was predictable, cliche, and not very well written.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kindle version of my novel 'A Time to Tell' :)