Lindegard

One of those light but engaging novels one wishes would never end. I feel as though I, too, have been on a journey round Rügen, Germany's largest island, to the north on the Baltic Sea. So many interesting characters emerge on this 11-day jaunt. I was a bit disappointed in the ending, but could see no alternative given the personalities involved. Von Arnim has such wit and mordant humor; yet also, ecstatic delight in the natural world, and a deep humanity. This is part travelogue, part fiction, though I daresay the fiction is the larger lot. What a splendid writer. If you loved The Enchanted April by von Arnim, you will delight in her descriptions of lizards and scarlet sunsets, and the funny little behaviors unique to humans.