The Time Between by Karen White

This lovely novel has everything: lyrical prose, passionate descriptions, a windswept Edisto, South Carolina setting, a crotchety, Hungarian matriarchal figure named Helena with a mysterious past, whose prosperous, white-collar nephew hires narrator Elenor Murray to tend to her demands, in a seaside house filled with priceless portraits of unknown origins. And music? The Time Between is filled with classical music, running through the story thematically from the hands of Elenor, who, racked with guilt over her involvement in her sister’s life-altering accident and her father’s death, has foresworn her love of the piano. And yet, the reader learns, Helena’s past in war-torn Hungary incrementally unfolds as the two women learn to trust each other. In Hungary, we learn, Helena’s life was centered upon music, as Helena was one of three sisters regionally famous as a trio before the war tossed their life asunder. It is the piano that draws Elenor and Helena slowly together, and Helena’s nephew, Finn, who ultimately links the two women by loving both. I loved everything about this steady-paced, intriguing story. It is replete with love, history, the complications of family, redemption and growth. I received this novel as a surprise for joining the infamous book club, the Pulpwood Queens, by its book-loving headmistress, Kathy Murphy. Reading this novel has made a Karen White fan of me!