About The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Inside the Dead Letters Depot in East London, William Woolf is one of thirty letter detectives who spend their days solving mysteries: Missing postcodes, illegible handwriting, rain-smudged ink, lost address labels, torn packages, forgotten street names - they are all the culprits of missed birthdays, broken hearts, unheard confessions, pointless accusations, unpaid bills and unanswered prayers.
When William discovers letters addressed simplyto 'My Great Love' his work takes on new meaning. Written by a woman to a soulmate she hasn't met yet, the missives stir William in ways he didn't know were possible. Soon he begins to wonder: Could William be her great love?
William must follow the clues in Winter's letters to solve his most important mystery yet: the human heart.
My review of The Lost Letters of William Woolf
I absolutely loved reading The Lost Latters of William Woolf. This book was an absolute treat to read and I found myself slowly devouring the pages as I didn't want the story to end. In a world that is increasingly fast paced, it was such a pleasure to sit back and read this tantalisingly slow tale of love and loss from decades ago.
The novel is set in the 1980s and I loved that it was set during this period in time, when pen and paper ruled. The pages echoed with a huge sense of nostalgia. The writing flowed beautifully and I found myself swept along in the story of William Woolf as he finds himself immersed in his work at the Lost Letters Depot, while trying to juggle his home life and to keep his wife happy.
William's life is working at the Lost Letters Depot. Not only does he take his job incredibly seriously, but he is empathetic towards the situations that he find himself in, in trying to bring people together through their lost letters, birthday cards and love letters. I thought that this was such a lovely concept, that he was able to find a home for all those letters that were lost. How many times have we sent a postcard, birthday card or letter and it has failed to reach the recipient. What would happen if the letter was a declaration of your love which was then lost? How would that change the path of your life?
The author takes this idea and then completely turns it on its head. William finds himself reading letters that have been written by Winter, a young woman who is writing letters to her future lover. She writes with the hope that one day they will meet and that they will instantly know that they were meant to 'be'. What I loved was that William questioned if the letters were directed at him, and if Winter was meant to be his soul mate. An idea that is reinforced and made more real because io his relationship with Claire, his wife.
This is such a beautiful novel, set in the time when paper ruled the world. It's a novel about love and longing and striving for that sense of belonging. It's a novel about nostalgia, the art of communication and that at the end of the day, we all want eternal happiness. Such a special and heartwarming read.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy.
The Lost Letters of William Woolf is published by Michael Joseph on 10th July.
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