Review: Two Souls Meant to Be Together, Even Across Time
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2014
“All I Longed For Long Ago Was You” is a deeply romantic novel that weaves together two eras in history—World War II and Vietnam—to create a compelling, engaging story.The novel is told through the alternating perspectives of Dan, an American who is about to join the Armed Forces in World War II; Odette, a French girl living through the German Occupation; and John and Susan, two teenagers coming of age right before and during the Vietnam War. How their lives (and souls) overlap and echo each other make up the plot, which jumps back and forth in time to build the story as well as develop suspense.If you enjoy romance about sincere love that crosses time, you’ll find much to like in this novel. The four characters are distinct and interesting; Dan is steadfast and admirable, while Odette is brave and feisty. John is the only character’s voice you get in the first person, which makes you most invested in his narrative, and the author does an excellent job of bringing a 1960s teenager to life, with the thrills and disappointments of love, friendship, and school in a turbulent time. Susan is actually the character given the least amount of attention and personality, at least in my opinion, but I still found her paintings and how they tied her to the past a compelling part of the story. Though you know at the beginning that Dan and Odette are destined to cross paths, how they eventually come together drives the book, and how Susan and John find out about their own mysterious connection to the those lovers is nicely, smoothly done.I would recommend “All I Longed for Long Ago Was You” to readers who like sweeping, tragic romances set in past eras, especially when those novels touch lightly on the subject of reincarnation and fate.