Letter from a Stranger
A Novel
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3.9 • 17 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Letter from a Stranger
Barbara Bradford
Justine Nolan is a documentary filmmaker who lost her cherished grandmother a decade ago—the only source of love and comfort in her life. Her own mother, Deborah, has always been distant, focusing on her career as an interior designer. But when Justine inadvertently opens a letter addressed to her mother, she discovers that not only is her grandmother alive, but that Deborah has deliberately distanced her from the family for all these years. Justine's search for her grandmother takes her to Istanbul, where she begins to uncover secrets that stretch all the way back to World War II. As layers of deception peel away, Justine begins to understand a woman she never really knew…and she begins to ask questions about the true desires of her own heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bradford's latest (after Playing the Game) is a multigenerational tale set in Connecticut's exclusive Litchfield Hills, exotic Istanbul, uptown New York, and WWII Germany. Filmmaker Justine Nolan, 32, cuts a sympathetic figure despite being tall, blonde, and successful, because all she's ever wanted is to enjoy the loving family she was deprived of by the death of her father, her mother's manipulations, and the disappearance of her beloved grandmother, Gabriele. When Justine opens a letter stating that Gabriele is alive and well in Istanbul, Justine jets off to find her. She reconnects with Gabriele and meets Gabriele's lifelong friend, Anita, along with Anita's handsome and savvy grandson, Michael. At this point, Gabriele takes over as heroine, revealing her secret past through diary excerpts. Reading about Gabriele's trials in Nazi Germany, Justine discovers the extent of her mother's deceptions, the depth of her grandmother's suffering, and something about herself as well. In want or in luxury, Bradford characters live in style, from white clapboard houses in Connecticut to Turkish villas overlooking the Bosphorus. Gardens, food, clothing, and accessories everything in Bradford's world shows taste. If the plot turns simplistic at times, loyal fans will still tear up at the descriptions of enduring friendship and familial love.
