The Sense of Paper – Wendy Holden

The Last Word Review

 I had one major problem with The Sense of Paper by Wendy Holden in that it is truly compelling that when I started I had real difficulty in putting it down. It is truly compelling and I was struck at just how beautiful Wendy Holden’s writing really is as a novel.

A story that explores the many facets of humanity to its lowest points anyone can reach. If I said that The Sense of Paper is a work of art I really would actually mean it is just that in many ways. Art plays a major role in this story of War, obsession and love as well as the history of art. Anyone like me who loves the work of the artist of JMW Turner will also enjoy this book.

Charlotte Hudson (Charlie) a reporter who has spent years covering one conflict after another, but now Charlie has been home in London for some time and after a shocking ordeal while covering the conflict in war torn Kosovo she is left with not just the physical wounds but also the emotional wounds that have gone with it. The scars have taken their toll on Charlie and she is left at the lowest point anyone can reach. At times alcohol became her best friend.  Sometimes the only way to seek any form of solace after an ordeal like that is to share your experiences and Charlies book covering her time there as a journalist receives acclaim for her writing. But the flashbacks and the nightmares continue.

To seek some form of solace and keep her mind off the ordeals Charlie now turns her attention on her second book based on her grandfather’s love of the artist JMW Turner and visits an arts store and looks at the various quality of paper artists would use. It is here she meets the expert on Turner’s work Sir Alan Matheson soon they are talking over coffee and Matheson encourages Charlie’s passion in her writing project and the qualities of paper that Turner would use. Soon Charlie falls in love with Matheson but here is a journalist that has been left broken by the horrors that Charlie went through and Matheson is at the top of his game in the world of art but there is darkness in both their lives.

Charlie now must seek the truth about Sir Alan’s past is this a way that can heal some of her own demons and will love find a way in the end for them both. Trust is something that Charlie has lost in the years since returning home. She wants to trust Matheson but may be the journalist in Charlie want to know the truth surrounding him and so a mystery story now plays out.

The backdrop of this story one of art and the sense of history as well as paper play a key role but the characters are truly outstanding and the heroine in Charlie is simply incredible, a modern day love story set to the backdrop of art that reads like a literary classic. This is a must read and its themes will appeal to many. Do not miss this book. It will linger with you for some-time to come.

Thank you to Wendy Holden for the review copy of The Sense of Paper.

The Sense of Paper by Wendy Holden is published by Renaissance Literary & Talent and is available as a Kindle download from Amazon.co.uk