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Janine S. (Wyoming, MI)
Excellent and thought-provoking read
If you are interested in reading a story that will hook you from the first sentence, this is a book for you. From the very beginning you want to know more about the tea plantation, its current and previous inhabitants and their secrets. The author's lush descriptions of the plantation serve as a vivid and atmospheric backdrop to a story about human and race relationships in early 20th C Ceylon where the British rule and its attitudes affect the heroine's acclimation to her role as wife and mistress of a tea plantation. Gwen is faced with understanding and making sense of the differing perceptions of the native
…more Ceylonese groups with those of her own and her husband, her sister-in-law and others she meets in the British company she socializes with. The perceptions of others often differ greatly from her own and at one point she has to grapple with a heart-wrenching decision of gigantic proportions as a result. The underlying story of race relationships is especially compelling as this issue is no different from those of today making the story line particularly compelling. You simply can't put the book down. In fact, if I could have, I would have read the book from start to finish to the end in one sitting, I was that intrigued. While an historical romance, don't be fooled; this story has substance. I highly recommend this book. (less)I opened this book and was immediately absorbed into the story and the time period with absolutely no effort. There was no straining to get into the story or to determine who the characters were. The characters were completely alive and vibrant, each with a totally separate personality, and the scenery was so lush and vivid that I felt I was there as an interloper in the story.
I really loved this book....the incredible story flowed freely through the years as the heroine, who began as a young innocent bride, grew into a determined young woman molded by life's challenges that she faced in her marriage, her
…more relationships with others, and in her own inner turmoil. Once again, with this story, readers are shown that life is not always as it seems and that we should persevere with what we feel is right – sometimes at a high cost. This is a wonderful story! (less)For those of you who like reading books with secrets, you won't be disappointed in The Tea Planter's Wife for secrets abound. Although predictable and contrived at times, the suspense goes on right to the very end. It is important to pay attention to beautiful Ceylon. Through detailed descriptions of the land and weather, you can portend the future and suspense builds. You know something unfortunate is going to happen when Gwen gets lost in the dark forest or when monsoons take over the land. Gwen is a likeable character and we get to know her first as a young girl and then as a married women. We go through all
…more her struggles and losses with her and hope she finds peace in the end. I would recommend this entertaining book. (less)I'm director of a small, rural, public library and facilitate two book clubs. I also belong to two community book clubs so I've read and discussed hundreds of books. I'll start by saying I enjoyed the book but felt it was slightly predictable. Historical fiction is not my genre of choice and was delighted the author made the setting and characters come alive. Traveling will be a focus in my retirement and this book put Sri Lanka on the map for me.
Veronica E. (Chesterton, IN)
Enjoyable
I liked the book. The descriptions of the countryside of Ceylon , the tea plantation, characters, all made this book a good read. It is what I would call and easy, soft, predictable read. The tragedy that befalls Gwen and Laurence and the suffering the family goes through, you can feel it in your heart. I liked Ms. Jefferies' writing very much. It is the kind of novel I like to pick up when I just need to read something softer, lighter. A sit until you finish kind of book. I have ordered it for our library and I look forward to recommending it to our patrons.
Elaine
The Tea Planter's Wife
The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies gets you involved in the book from the first sentence. It was easy to read and the author made you feel you were living on a tea plantation. I enjoyed the new information about the tea business. This book was a good example of what all can go wrong when information is keep from each other and what it does to a family. A few good twist will keep you interested until the end. I recommend this book for a light summer read.
Judy M. (East Haven, CT)
The Tea Planters Wife
The Tea Planter's Wife is a lovely, flowing love story which takes place in Ceylon.
It is a somewhat typical story of love & secrets, sorrow, but more importantly touches on the subject of social injustice.
The struggles between how people from the same culture but speak two different dialects are put in a caste system which keeps them divided. This struck me as pertinent in the world today-still! It also shows how an outsider can never really understand a culture, or people if they are not part of it.
All in all it is a light read, and did manage to keep my attention throughout.
Patricia T. (Fallbrook, CA)
The Tea Planter's Wife
The Tea Planter's Wife is above all a romance, backed up by dark deeds, misunderstandings, mystery, more misunderstandings, deceit, more misunderstandings, heartache and betrayal, shameful secrets, more misunderstandings. All this in an exotic setting, a tea plantation in Ceylon during colonial days. The culture of those days is totally captured, the novel is atmospheric, you can feel the heat and tension. In spite of all this I was not drawn in, found many of the characters one dimensional. I wanted to reach into the pages and give our noble heroine, Gwen, a good shake. A happy conclusion of course, in the end
…more all is revealed, resolved and forgiven. If you enjoy a tumultuous love story with a myriad of twists and turns, villains real and imagined, this is a book for you. (less)
