“Engaging and affecting . . . The setting may draw the reader in as much as the characters do.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
This short, new novel by the author of Searching for Bobby Fischer is a story of a want to be writer, who had one, though not very successful book in him, and while he still imagines himself to be a writer, he settles for working as a pest exterminator.
As an older man he travels to Costa Rica where he meets Rachel, a very beautiful, hard working woman who runs a small lounge called The Fragata Lounge where she does everything, while her sultry sister and a Mother who is seldom around get to enjoy their lives. Rachel, thinking he is a well known writer, begins telling him her story.
![](https://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Fred-Waitzkin-Strange-Love-SMALL.jpg)
Her story is what pushes the book along, and the authors beautiful writing brings this small Costa Rican village and Rachel and her family to life. The story has a Hemingway feel to it and the author himself acknowledges the heavy influence Hemingway had on his own writing.
Short and Sweet along with well done illustrations, this is a short read to be enjoyed. A book to be savored for its delicate rendering of life and love and sacrifice told through Rachel make it a book that needs to be read.
Highly recommended!
Reviewed by:
Richard Franco
Added 14th July 2021