Reviews

There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett

evabails's review against another edition

5.0

My heart. This book was so beautiful.

essjay1's review against another edition

2.0

Short & sweet, a timely story about resilience and family love. Not sure I understand the hype - perhaps I missed something in the audio version that a closer reading of the novel would reveal.

rachhenderson's review against another edition

2.0

There Was Still Love is set in 1980 in Melbourne and Prague and centred on sisters who were separated in WW2, and their grandchildren. There are occasional flash backs to war years but ignore anything that say the book is partially set in 1938 - the flash backs are few and far between.

For me, it was just a bit dull. 2.5 stars

felo's review against another edition

4.0

The story is told in an extraordianrily soft yet powerful way. It is also a story made of all those little pieces that most of us, living away from the home country, carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives.

henrymarlene's review against another edition

4.0

This was a very short book to get through but it was very complex in emotion, memory and connections of twin sisters who are caring for grandchildren at opposite ends of the world. It was sad to read Ludek's yearning for his mother, and that he is a reason for his mother's inability to seek asylum Australia. And sad to read of the hardship in old Czechoslovakia that his grandparents live through. Equally you read about how Liska lives with her grandparents in Melbourne (meeting Ludek's mother) and how they raise her in this strange country, still not accepting of migrants. There were moments where I reminisced about my own grandparents, and walking through delis in Footscray with one of them when I was young. My memory was evoked as I read the memories of these characters.

munchkinator's review against another edition

3.0

I really wanted to love this book, especially after all the fantastic reviews but I just could not fall for it. Some of it was beautiful other parts were just words on a page. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to truly appreciate it?

jessby's review against another edition

4.0

The story of a family separated by war and circumstances - but there was still love.

Parrett writes economically but with tenderness and attention to detail. She has incredible powers of observation especially in regard to family dynamics. I attended a reading and book signing of hers and she seems to be a person who is gentle, sensitive and introverted. If so this certainly comes across in her writing - and I love it. This story celebrates the special relationship between a child and their grandparents, and although I had a happy childhood, this story made me miss the grandparents that I never had.

handheartthroatwrist's review against another edition

3.0

This is a tale of twin sisters who were separated as teenagers, set against a sweeping timeline that traverses Germany’s occupation of Czechoslovakia to the Cold War - from Prague to London to Melbourne. It’s told from the perspective of their two grandchildren who have never met, due to being on opposite sides of the world (and opposite sides of the Curtain). Although the themes are heavy, having the story told through the perspective of children keeps the book surprisingly simple to read but that doesn’t detract from how profoundly moving and poignant it is. A self-described love letter to her own grandparents, congratulations to Favel Parrett for being shortlisted for both the Stella Prize and ABIA Awards.

benitakol's review

medium-paced

4.0

cec_loves_to_read_books's review against another edition

5.0

‘There was still love’ (listened to as audiobook) is another thoroughly deserving 2020 Stella Prize shortlisted book; the sense of time and place that is invoked through gently beautiful writing is just magical. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️