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Elise Frances Miller’s sequel and story collection, The Berkeley Girl: Rendezvous in London, a Novella and Other Stories of the 1960s, was released in September, 2017 (Sand Hill Review Press). Her first novel, The Berkeley Girl, in Paris 1968 (2016) was an Independent Press Awards’ 2017 Distinguished Favorite in Historical Fiction. She wrote a short memoir, “My People’s Park,” which won the 2nd prize for prose in The Times They Were A-Changing: Women Remember the ‘60s and ‘70s. Several stories appear in The Best of Sand Hill Review (2012), the Fault Zone series, and The Sand Hill Review (2007, 2010; fiction editor 2008). Follow her blog and updates at elisefrancesmiller.com/.
Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite
The Berkeley Girl: Rendezvous in London - A Novella and Other Stories of the '60s by Elise Frances Miller is a novel that some people might take as a romance, but it is much more than that. More of a woman’s story to find herself and accept her ingenuity, this is more of a coming of age story where a woman discovers that there is more to life than just being blissfully in love. Love is an important theme in the story, either love for herself or love for the man who makes her see the best in life.
Janet is happily in love, especially because of Aaron, who literally came to rescue her and saved her. Now that they were over the hardships and blissfully in love, they were ready to take the next step; Aaron wanting Janet in his life and to start a new chapter together. Living in London, things begin really easily, but they change when Janet discovers that there is more to life than being Aaron’s partner. While being immersed in the London scene with their new friends, Janet learns that there is a lot more to life than just having fun and becoming acquainted with new people. This eye-opener makes Janet and Aaron ask some big questions and the answers to none of them are pleasant.
I thoroughly enjoyed how real and relatable these characters were. I felt as if I was reading about a friend that I met a long time ago, but lost touch with. Their growth, their resilience and their emotions were true to human nature, so it made it easier for me to connect with them. I loved the fact that their love for each other was always there for them to fall back into for comfort and for the feeling of home when they were lost. I loved how they both took their own page space to figure their life out and not smother the other person. This is one of the most wonderful novels I have read so far this year.
