Review: Love Again by Sofie Cramer, Translated by Marshall Yarbrough

Previously published as Text For You this short novel has the most delightful romantic premise. Clara is mourning her fiancé who passed away shortly after an argument that led him to storm out of the apartment. She finds comfort in a strange place--by sending text messages to his old phone number. She is completely unaware that the number has been reassigned and it now belongs to Sven, a financial reporter. He doesn't quite know what to do about the heartfelt messages in his phone, but slowly he becomes more and more intrigued and seeks out to find the person sending the messages. And what he finds will change both his and Clara's lives for the better.

My feelings about this one are very mixed. The story itself is an excellent one. And I loved the idea of reading a novel set in Germany. Unfortunately the novel is let down by the blunt storytelling. I am not sure if this is the fault of the original German novel or the translation or a combination of both, but the telling is incredibly blunt, shows absolutely no nuance and the wording is clumsy in places. That said, there is something delightful about a story of two deserving people who find one another in unusual circumstances. The novel has recently been made into a motion picture, which, as of mid-May 2023 is screening in cinemas across Australia. 

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