The Book Review: The Chapel at the Edge of the World

The third Book Review is on...

“THE CHAPEL AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD”

By Kirsten McKenzie

This novel follows the story of two childhood lovers torn apart by WW2. Emilio finds himself a Prisoner of War on the Orkney islands where the only thing to do is create a magnificent chapel. Rosa remains in Italy in a small town outside Milan running a hotel with her mother. She finds herself in love with a man by the name of Pietro who drags her into the world of the resistance. And as Rosa and her Mother fight to keep the Nazi’s staying at the hotel unaware of their ‘illegal’ activities Rosa finds herself questioning everything she has ever known... including Emilio.

This novel was a real page-turner. It begins in the present day as Emilio and Rosa visit the Chapel on the Orkney Islands at the anniversary of the war. There they meet with another POW and together the three of them relive their stories by telling them to a BBC journalist who is there to document the event.

The story is solid, as are the characters and descriptions. However, McKenzie’s writing style is very choppy and you find yourself re-reading paragraphs just to grab the gist of what is happening... this can take you out of the story which is sad. But as you head towards the end you CANNOT put the book down.

This is another book to escape everyday life and be swept off your feet!

ThePoshGurl rating:

4 JimmyChoos out of 5.