What, or who, is her other half? It could be her twin with a different birthday. The Hope sisters are born either side of midnight on 31 July, which is reflected in their names - Julia and Augusta.
The twins are as alike as chalk and cheese, Julia pretty and content, Augusta plain and questioning. Julia is into dolls, clothes and pets; Augusta’s passions are books and words. She has her favourites words, like Burundi, the country’s name rolling off the tongue evocatively. It piques her interest, and she researches the country’s history.
Unknown to her, half a world away, a boy named Parfait Nduwimana is growing up in Burundi, living with the legacy of that history and experiencing a present not much better. But his outlook is positive, and after talking to his friend, the local Spanish priest, he develops a plan to walk north to Morocco and from there go by boat to Spain. He will take his younger brother with him.
Back in England, Augusta also has the wanderlust. A family holiday and her study of Spanish literature feeds a dream of life in the sun there; she visits regularly and eventually she makes the move and gets a job in the south of Spain. Parfait makes it there too, against the odds. But for each, happiness is tainted by family tragedies.
Their paths cross once or twice early on, near misses only, but it would be rubbish if they did not meet up eventually. Could it turn out that the other half of Augusta is a soul mate in the form of boy from Burundi?
The twin narratives of Augusta and Parfait move
their respective stories on rapidly. Augusta’s relationship with her twin and
parents is particularly well-observed, and Parfait’s optimistic response to the
hand life has dealt him is uplifting. While their destiny may seem clear, their
journeys have enough twists and turns to keep the reader unsure to the end.
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