The Third Angel
A Novel
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3.8 • 21 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A magical and stunningly original story that charts the lives of three women in love with the wrong men from the bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, The Rules of Magic
“Headstrong women, reckless love affairs and a liberal dusting of the supernatural are the pleasurable trademarks of an Alice Hoffman novel. . . . [The Third Angel] should bewitch old fans and new readers alike.”—People
Headstrong Madeleine Heller finds herself hopelessly attracted to her sister’s fiancé. Frieda Lewis, a doctor’s daughter and a runaway, becomes the muse of an ill-fated rock star. And beautiful Bryn Evans is set to marry an Englishman while secretly obsessed with her ex-husband. At the heart of the novel is Lucy Green, who blames herself for a tragic accident she witnessed at the age of twelve, and who spends four decades searching for the Third Angel–the angel on earth who will renew her faith.
Brilliantly evoking London’s King’s Road, Knightsbridge, and Kensington while moving effortlessly back in time, The Third Angel is a work of startling beauty about the unique, alchemical nature of love.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Alice Hoffman’s romantic novel about three generations of women—and the secrets and betrayals that bind them—has a profound spiritual bent. Hoffman travels backward across the last half of the 20th century, following three doomed love affairs; adulterous lovers, a self-destructive rock star, and a wise-beyond-her-years tween all find small redemptions and unexpected kindnesses. Even when her characters’ choices make us want to reach into the book and shake some sense into them, Hoffman elicits our deepest empathy. That generous spirit makes The Third Angel an unexpectedly uplifting read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this elegant and stunning novel, veteran heartstring-puller Hoffman (Here on Earth; Seventh Heaven) examines the lives of three women at different crossroads in their lives, tying their London-centered stories together in devastating retrospect. High powered New York attorney Maddy Heller arrives in 1999 London having had an affair with Paul, her sister Allie's fianc ,; she must now cope with the impending marriage, and with Paul's terminal illness which echoes the girls' mother's cancer during their childhood. Hoffman then shifts to heady 1966 London and to Frieda Lewis, Paul's future mother, who falls for a doomed up-and-coming songwriter knowing he will break her heart. The narrative then shifts further back, to 1952 and to Maddy and Allie's future mother, Lucy Green. A bookish 12-year-old wise beyond her years, Lucy sails with her father and stepmother from New York to London for a wedding. There, she becomes an innocent catalyst to a devastating event involving a love triangle. Hoffman interweaves the three stories, gazing unerringly into forces that cause some people to self-destruct ("There was no such thing as too much for a girl who thought she was second best") and others to find inner strength to last a lifetime.
Customer Reviews
Had to stop reading
I couldn't get the characters who seemed shallow and uninteresting. New things kept being added without prep or reason. Story boring and content seemed to be contrived. Read for about half, skimmed then stopped. Wish I had not started.