I promise not to post every single review, however, while they are all precious and prized, now and then there is one that hits home in a special way, either because of who wrote the review and their connection with the story, or because they provide an insight that surprises me.
One of my readers, an author in her own right (Life Under The Dark Sky), Diana Branisteanu, left such a review for The Death of Rafael on Amazon.com. She brought out the one theme that pervades the novel, one which developed as the story moved through time and countries–one that speaks of the sacrifice of the older generation so that their sons and daughters survive and thrive and capture life. This theme developed silently, unknown to me, as my characters took a life of their own and decided to move in their own direction. Yes, characters do take a life of their own.
Here is the review:
The Death of Rafael is a story of how war affected the life of people of all ages, ranks and origins. Desperate acts of survival, extreme risk taking, and surrender at the mercy of fate even long after the war is over, mark the well defined characters. The structure of the story line takes the reader on a journey in time and across the world’s map with detailed descriptions of the places and historical events. The plot is so intense and well built, that most of the time I could not wait to see what happened next. Renescu has envisioned an extraordinary tale of heartbreak, courage, heroism and perseverance that touches the heart and soul of the reader with every page. Destinies are linked together in a net of secrets hard to unveil, and even harder to believe. In the end the sacrifice of the older generation leads to hope for the next one. A very impressive book, from cover to cover!