When Clara meets Elias, she isn’t looking for love. Widowed and wary of being hurt again, she has built a careful life of work and quiet independence. Elias, an actor in his thirties, is trapped in a relationship that no longer feels real, more at ease slipping into a role than being himself.
Yet from the moment they meet, something genuine sparks between them – something neither has felt in years. They fall into step easily, sharing secrets, laughter and the sense of being seen. But there is the age difference, the miles between their worlds, and the lingering guilt that ties Clara to her past.
When a new job takes her to another part of the country, she ends the relationship before he can – certain that love like theirs cannot last. And then Elias falls ill, forcing them both to confront what truly matters.
Told with warmth, gentle humour and quiet insight, Love, After All is a luminous portrait of two people finding the courage to open their hearts again – proof that love, at any age, can still take us by surprise.
Ewald Arenz was born in Nuremberg in 1965, studied English, American literature and history, and now works as a teacher at a grammar school.
His novels and plays have received numerous awards. Tasting Sunlight was longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, shortlisted for the German Booksellers Best Novel Award, and featured on the Spiegel bestseller lists in both hardback and paperback for months.
In the UK, it was a BBC World Book Club pick. One Grand Summer won the German Booksellers Prize in 2021,and was a number one bestseller in Germany.
Ewald lives with his family near Fürth.
My thoughts: Clara and Elias fall in love in an instant, but can that sudden spark stay the course? Clara breaks things off to move to Hamburg for a new job, convinced it’s for the best.
But then Elias becomes sick and runs the risk of dying, dropping everything she rushes to be by his side in hospital. Can they find that connection again and this time make it work?
There’s other kinds of love here too, the love Clara and her brother share, the bond between Elias and his daughter, the relationship between Clara’s parents, the one she has with her mother, who has dementia. Even the love Elias has for his job as an actor, and Clara’s passion for photography. They might not be big, loud, grand passions, but they matter too and sustain the characters through good times and bad.
As Elias recovers from his brush with death, he and Clara must decide whether they truly belong together or not, and work out what that means for their future. Love is not always easy, but perhaps it is worth everything.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 