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The Wandering Season
Aimie K. Runyan
368 pages
Harper Muse
Amazon/ Goodreads/Bookshop.org
This is one of my favorite books of the year so far. As an adoptee, I am always intrigued by books that feature people like me, so I knew that I was going to read this novel, plus I am a big fan of this author’s work.
Veronica, the main character in this novel, takes a DNA test gifted to her by her sister, and it confirms her suspicions that she is adopted. Veronica goes on a journey to Ireland, France, Italy and Denmark to see where her ancestors are from. Along her journey of self exploration, she finds romance in an Irish castle and takes a hard look at what she wants to do with her life. Veronica is currently a food broker but the question everyone asks her is if she wants to be a chef. Veronica finds out some answers but has questions.
Veronica also has some dreams or visions of her ancestors. I enjoyed the touches of magical realism.
This book allowed me to be an armchair traveler (no small thing at the moment) and the descriptions of settings as well as the food in the locations allowed me to be somewhere else and also made me incredibly hungry. I wish the book had included a few recipes!
About the only reservation I had about the book was how the adoption was handled; Veronica seemed remarkably unaffected by learning as an adult that she was adopted, although toward the end, it was evident that she had been suppressing some of her emotions. However, I was able to put these reservations aside because the book was so enjoyable that I read it all in one day.
I also listened to part of the book on audio. The narrator was good and I enjoyed her accents.
Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins Focus and Harper Muse Audiobooks for providing me with the advanced copies of the text and audiobook in exchange for my unbiased opinions.
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