“The Japanese Lover” by Isabel Allende

What a lush and lovely journey is taken in this beautifully written love story focusing on Alma, a wealthy, strong-willed, elderly woman who recently moved into an apartment at the Lark House for seniors, and as the story proceeds, the layers of her life are revealed in flashbacks, letters, and the probings of her grandson, Seth and a lovely, but emotionally wounded,  young Lark House aide from Eastern Europe named Irina.  In gentle yet honest prose, the story weaves its way from Poland in 1939 as Alma is forced to leave her parents and immigrate to America, back to 2010 where Irina  begins to wonder about Alma’s mysterious letters, flowers, and weekend trips, and eventually it slowly reveals the details of all the years in between to form a portrait of life-changing decisions, cultural shifts, and above all, enduring love. 4 STARS (Wonderful, Glad I read it.)