Poignant and Sweet
5 stars
An unusual take on a romantic story, “Loving Jenny” is the story of Jenny May, an earthquake survivor suffering from PTSD and Lucas Tate, country veterinarian.
Accepting the invitation of her friend Stella, Jenny was trying to self heal in the small town of Ellison but found herself slowly falling in love with the devastatingly handsome Luke. With her instinct of self-preservation in full alert, she was also pushing Luke away yet it was only when she was with him when the nightmares go away.
***MY TAKE ON THE STORY and POSSIBLE SPOILERS***
Originally published in 1989 and reissued on Kindle in 2012, “Loving Jenny” was actually set about late 1970s to early 1980s, (the only definitive date in the story is the “ancient” 1972 truck that Luke was driving)and with the Vietnam War still fresh in the memory of the characters.
Told in the point of view of Jenny and Luke, the poignant recollection of their past and how they dealt with their painful childhood explained their personalities as adults – Jenny’s tentative and almost shy tenderness on almost everything and Luke’s love for Ellison and his dedication in being a vet. While one of them became dysfunctional while the other one had a healthier point of view on life, the slow build up of the tenderness and love that Luke and Jenny felt each other is the reason why this book is so poignant and sweet.
It is also great that that the author decided to keep the book within the timeframe of when it was originally written. As a reader, I hate it when authors reissuing an earlier work tries to add new things to make the book more contemporary and thus losing the integrity and the atmosphere of the book.
With author Theresa Weir keeping the 1970s feel of the book, the story is seen based on its time frame. And thus, Jenny’s innocence was not unexpected and Luke’s idealism is what permeated during that era. And because of that, the book is also timeless!
Twenty-years from now, someone can pick up this book, read it and the protagonists will come alive as they did 20 years ago when it was first issued and like today, as it is being re-issued.
This book is rated M for Mature due to adult situations.
