Infinite stranger by Wendy Skorupski

 Infinite Stranger 

by Wendy Skorupski

Infinite Stranger by Wendy Skorupski was published on 19th June 2023 by W Maryla Press

My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

"A beautiful, complex, tender story about a mother and a daughter, about love, living and the choices we have to make when it comes to matters of the heart. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy an immersive read. It’s a fascinating, moving, heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting story." - review by author Louise Douglas

On a snowy February morning in 1978, eighteen-year-old Leah Cavanagh meets Brother Matthew Haddon while on a retreat with her Catholic girls’ school. The four days she spends at Greystones Abbey in the wilds of North Yorkshire will have a profound impact not only on her own life, but also on that of her single mother Molly, who never recovered from the murder of her fiancé in 1956.

Leah and Matthew start writing to each other. Soon a tentative friendship develops, with a hint of more. The longing that Leah feels is shared vicariously by Molly, who sees something of her late fiancé in a photograph that Leah shows her of the handsome young monk. When Leah leaves home to study at music college, her feelings for Matthew deepen and she has difficulty committing to other relationships.

Over the coming years Leah keeps returning to Greystones Abbey, spurred by her infatuation for Matthew. The forbidden desire between them grows in intensity with each visit, until it seems impossible that the monk’s vows of chastity will remain unbroken. Soon Leah finds herself unable to break free - neither from her controlling mother, nor her enigmatic yet tortured monk - and realizes that choices will have to be made.

My Review

This is a book to be looked at from many perspectives, which is based upon real life events. There will be aspects that will give you much to think about as far as all the characters are concerned. Also what is reality and whit is myth when dreaming and hope start to take over ?

You will find yourself questioning the "healthy " aspects of all the relationships that we encounter in this powerful and moving read as it moves between reality and illusion. more often than not without a thought as to the effect on others.

It also highlights how obsession can take over you life in heart breaking fashion and block the ability to move on and see beyond it. 

Many of us will have experienced infatuations during our teenage years which we generally move on from, however, what happens when you don't ?

I will be honest it took a while for me to get into this book, however, once I did I found myself engaged with how the characters were developing as well as questioning their actions.

Definitely a book I would recommend if you like a book that gets you thinking.

About the Author

Wendy Skorupski had an international upbringing in Cyprus and Vienna and graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in England. She lives in the beautiful historic city of Krakow in Southern Poland and works in the field of international education. Her first dream was to be a concert pianist, just like Leah Cavanagh in her latest novel, Infinite Stranger, therefore she writes about this little-known world from first-hand experience. Infinite Stranger was also inspired by the murder of Wendy’s late mother’s fiancé, Peter Fox - a tragic event that changed the course of her life and provided the backdrop to the novel.

Wendy is the mother of three wonderful children and the owner of a stubborn but loveable Belgian Malinois. During her daily brisk walks with this high-energy dog, ideas for her writing abound.

Wendy is also the author of the novel, Once Upon a Thousand Hills, available on Amazon. She is currently working on her next novel.

Wendy’s blog can be found on: wendyskorupski.com.