Finding Gabriel
Finding Gabriel is a novel set in 1815 in Paris. France is still coming to terms with life without Napoleon and one of his former colonels is struggling to come to terms with life in its entirety. He shoots himself. But salvation comes to him in the form of Ariah Larochelle, who finds him on the edge of the Seine and rescues him. What happens next and how successful Ariah is in saving Gabriel, and herself, is the subject of the novel.
Rachel Demeter has a delightful style with an intensity of description that never waivers. Without this skill the story would descend completely into annoying sentimentality of the worst kind, but the style saves it and makes it entirely readable, and makes the reader want to read on beyond the possibly over-detailed love scenes. If you like such passages, you will love this novel — her characters feel everything profoundly. Gabriel himself is a particularly intriguing character with an edginess and a darkness that solidifies him and takes him beyond the commonplace. He is the human side of war.
All in all, Finding Gabriel offers an interesting storyline with plenty of twists, peopled by some rounded characters, wrapped up in a writing style that never loses track of a detail or a character. If the author moved away from melodrama, she could be a force to be reckoned with. It is a good read and anyone with an interest in the Napoleonic wars will find plenty to grip them.
E-edition reviewed (mainstream produced, not indie)
