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    That Part Was True
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    That Part Was True
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    That Part Was True
    Audiobook5 hours

    That Part Was True

    Written by Deborah McKinlay

    Narrated by Katherine Kellgren and L.J. Ganser

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Reminiscent of ONE DAY meets 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, THAT PART WAS TRUE is a bittersweet story about falling in love and risking it all.

    When Eve Petworth writes to Jackson Cooper to praise a scene in one of his books, they discover a mutual love of cookery and food. As their letters criss-cross the ocean that lies between them, friendship and then romance blossoms despite Jackson's colourful love life and Eve's tense relationship with her soon-to-be-married daughter. Little by little, Eve and Jack begin to believe that they may have a chance to change their lives and possibly get a second chance at happiness. They just need to actually meet...

    Read by L.J. Ganser and Katherine Kellgren

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette UK Audio
    Release dateMar 13, 2014
    ISBN9781409151067
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for That Part Was True

    3.5/5

    52 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Delightful and charming The perfect book to recommend for a sweet, well written read.
    • 4/5
      [That Part Was True] by [Deborah McKinlay] is a charming little book, perfect for rainy day reading. Eve Petworth, a 55 year old English woman, was married at a young age, divorced shortly thereafter, and has never remarried. She is financially well off, and has been able to pursue her favorite things; gardening, cooking and reading, at her home in the English countryside. She begins a friendship through correspondence quite unintentionally when she writes a short fan letter to Jackson Cooper, the American author of a very popular detective series. Jackson has recently separated from his second wife and is facing both his 50th birthday and a midlife crises. In the first letter Eve quotes this description of eating a peach from Jack's latest book: "leaning over and holding back his green silk tie with one arm while the juice christened the shirt cuff of the other". From that they learn they share an interest in good food, in this case tree ripened fruit. Eve is an accomplished cook and Jack is learning, so they begin to share cooking tips and recipes. The letters, interspersed through the book, become a balm for both of them in their sometimes troubled lives and in addition to expanding their knowledge of cooking they help guide each other to a happier existence. I like books that have a twist at the end, and this even has that.
    • 3/5
      Two stories in dialogue with each other. First is the British single mother who is dealing with her anxiety issues and insolent adult child. Then there is Jack, the American author recently divorced from a mediocre marriage, trying to find himself and independence. The two write back and forth trading recipes and life observations. Then the narration fills in their stories. Decent, but nothing spectacular.
    • 4/5
      That Part Was True is the charming story of Jackson Cooper, an American writer, and Eve who has spent her life feeling shy, in the background and unable to cope with her life. She writes to Jack to compliment him on his work and enter into correspondence, finding that they have cooking and a love of food in common.I was expecting quite a different book to the one I actually got. I thought the two of them would meet up, find that they got on well and then fall in love, but the story is more about them finding out how to be themselves before being able to fully open up to each other. Nevertheless, I got to the end of the book feeling a kind of satisfaction and the final paragraph is lovely and uplifting. An understated, yet heartening personal read and I think a group would be able to discuss the hang-ups of the various characters.
    • 4/5
      This is a charming story about a lonely British divorcee, Eve Petworth, who writes a fan letter to an American author, Jackson Cooper and he replies. A long distance virtual friendship develops between Eve and Jack, beginning with their mutual love of cooking and food, and gradually growing into something deeper. As time passes, the two come to look to each other for support through the highs and lows of their lives.We get to know their hopes and dreams, their families, and their culinary tastes. And we wonder, of course, if their virtual relationship will ever develop into anything more.Discussion: The story is told partially in an epistolary format, chronicling Jack and Eve's developing bonds. (In a humorously meta way, Eve’s writing is much more literary than Jack’s, although it is Jack who is the successful author.) They also frequently exchange recipes, two of which are included at the end of the book. Some of the non-epistolary writing is quite fun as well, such as this exchange in which Eve’s daughter Izzy is talking to her fiance Ollie about her mother::"‘She’s changed.’‘Changed good? Or changed bad?’‘Just changed.’‘Be specific.’‘Last night, when I telephoned her about the weekend, there was music playing in the background.’‘Well, that’s bloody suspicious.’”Evaluation: Just lovely; a treat for all the senses. BBC Films, the U.K. public broadcaster's stand-alone filmmaking unit, has optioned the rights to the novel. I hope that means a sequel is in the works as well!
    • 4/5
      I found this to be a delighful story. Eve Petworth is a shy divorcee subject to panic attakcks who has one daughter. She has never felt herself to be a good mother, and it was Eve's mother Virginia, who has just died, that her daughter Izzy felt closest to and she was a woman everyone else had found difficult' Eve writes to famous author Jackson Cooper to tell him how much she liked his book and he replies. Following that a correspondence develops between the two of them as they discover they have a common interest in food and share recipes. Over time they become much closer and are able to share the difficulties in their lives. Jack suggests that they meet in Paris and as I continued to read the book I thought they might possibly do this but the book ended in a different way that I thought was equally satisfying and maybe more believable knowing the characters.