The Lantern

The Lantern
Deborah Lawrenson
Harper Collins
August 2011
Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-06-204969-8
387 pages
$ 25.99
Fiction

“A secret can tear the soul. Unspoken, it seeps into the subconscious, it penetrates the body, the character of a person, until at last it takes over all reason and reasoning – until nothing is left but the secret that cannot be told and that must be kept tight inside at all costs. This is devastation, the inner waste.”
How many of us are really what others see? Do we have secrets that change and daily influence us? Or ones that would greatly change someone’s opinion of our personal character? Should you accept the blame for the problems within your family? If not you, who will take the responsibility for your family?
The Lantern is written in a similar style as Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier with the past haunting and influencing people’s lives with a mixture of love and death in Provence, France. This is the intertwining of two tales both at the rural Les GenEvriers surrounded by the lavender fields.
One story revolves around Eve who has quickly become involved with Dom. He obviously has many secrets, especially about his former wife, Rachel. Unfortunately, Dom refuses to talk or to answer questions about her which naturally makes Eve more curious and almost obsessed about the past.
The other story is about the former owners of Les GenEvriers, the Lincel family. This particular family became famous because of one blind daughter who became successful in the perfume business. The one boy in the family, Pierre, was abusive and psychotic. Unfortunately, it appears the even though Les GenEvriers was sold to Dom, the former residents have not left completely.
While somewhat haunting and at times chilling, this seemed to be an imitation of Rebecca rather than a similar story. The story was predictable and leaned strongly to being a romance novel rather than a haunting tale. This was more like family secrets and gossip.
On the positive side, this tale tended more towards a realistic story with real problems and real people. Though not fast-paced, this aspect kept the intensity of the story-line moving and developing.
The Lantern is a different story with a non-linear plot line that still weaves an intriguing tale.