The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert ~ Review

My Review:

I was absolutely thrilled to discover that The Crooked Path is a parallel companion/sequel to Child of the River. This book's storyline intersects and entwines with it's companion, sharing many of the main characters and following them through the decades starting a few years before WWII.

Lettie Louw is an intelligent young woman who follows in her father's footsteps, training to be a doctor in South Africa. Lettie is a good friend, supportive, compassionate, with a strong moral compass and respect for the truth. Her first patient is Marco Romanelli, an Italian man who weathered the horrors of Concentration Camp, with compromised health and a weakened immune system.

I admired Lettie for her strengths and vulnerabilities, she captured my heart instantly as a body conscious teenager, in love with a boy who doesn't notice her. She is compassionate and empathetic, often thinking of others, how they will feel, and always treating others with respect. 

I loved how this book takes place over the course of multiple decades, showing snapshots of important moments in Marco and Lettie's lives, we see couples fall in love, children born, and people die. And even though the years are spinning by, I never felt like I missed even a beat. Gripping from the very first page, I was delighted revisit many of families from Child of the River, like De Wet, Boelie, Christine, and Persomi, just to name a few. I savored immersing myself in a different culture, sharing their triumphs and heartbreak in this powerful read that showcases the human condition. This book showed a very different side of South Africa than its companion, focusing more on the medical side and the Polio epidemic in South Africa.

Overall, a thoroughly tremendous read, Ms. Joubert is a masterful wordsmith, weaving a story that shows multiple families as they struggle through loss, love, forgiveness, and finding hope in second chances. The translation from Afrikaans is excellent. The faith element was handled very well, it was never preachy, and there were no pat answers.While the characters might not have spoken about their faith all the time, what was more powerful to me was how they lived it and how much it held weight in their lives by their actions.

A heartfelt read, I cried over their heartbreaks, and rejoiced with their triumphs. Heartbreaking, yet full of hope. One of my favorite books read this year, I can't recommend this book enough!


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