Will and Lu travel to Seville for their second honeymoon, exactly during Semana Santa (Holy Week). It’s a wonderful mix of magical realism, time travel, and doppelgängers, with vivid imagery that reminded me of the film The Grand Budapest Hotel.
I could imagine myself in Seville, capturing a picture of a café painted bright yellow, with floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, at the middle table, sit two couples: a pair of newlyweds glowing with intimacy, and a middle-aged couple sitting close enough, yet separated by what feels like an invisible river.
Instead of spending quality time with his lovely wife in magical Seville during Holy Week, Will clings to his laptop, always a business call to make, another meeting to fit in, admiring his company brochure and business card in his spare moments. A man suffering from a critical condition of self-importance addiction, at the terminal stage of workaholism.
Yet, it’s Holy Week in Seville, a place where miracles happen. Will and Lu encounter their younger selves, honeymooning 30 years earlier. Will even gets a taste of the life he once believed he needed before he could truly care for his wife, or for anything beyond work.
If you’re expecting a sweet, nostalgic love story about a couple who’ve “made it” after 30 years of marriage, this isn’t quite that. Many times, I wanted to leave Will by the roadside, but I cared too much about Lu, and Seville’s irresistible charm kept me reading.
No matter how frustrated I was, I continued to hope for Will’s best, and that for a repentant and changed man, forgiveness and second chances can be granted. Isn’t this the message of Good Friday and Easter? Miracles, reconciliation between God and man, between a couple, or within any relationship.
At its core, the making of this book feels like a sweet testimony of love between the author and his wife. It was inspired by their own anniversary trip, a return to Seville where they first honeymooned, once again during Semana Santa.
Of course, the book is beautifully dedicated:
“To the extraordinary young woman with whom I honeymooned so many years ago in Seville. And have been honeymooning ever since.” – Paul A. Mendelson
Thank you to @thebookguildpublishing and @netgalley for the eARC.
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Fun fact: The hotel room number where Will and Lu stay in Seville is “381,” which apparently means “I love you.” I didn’t know that until now — did you? Or am I the only one?
Have you been to Seville? Is it on your travel list