Lily and Julian share a passion filled with impossibility, a present love rooted in their tragic past as Heloise and Abelard
What would happen if Heloise and Abelard, the tragic 12th century French lovers, found their way back to each other today? Who might they be? What might they remember? What might be unresolved within them and between them? How might they choose to "do it differently?" In a contemporary and expansive twist on one of history's most enduring epistles of shattered love, A Love Apart tells the story of Lily, a poet, and Julian, a painter who find themselves in “no ordinary love affair.”
Lily's been dreaming a young nun whose longing for a beautiful monk has filled her with inconsolable grief. Meanwhile, Julian, who moved to Asheville, NC after the death of his partner Sam, feels compelled to paint crucifixes, cathedral spires, and a monk with the look of terror in his eyes.
Lily and Julian are inevitably drawn to one another. Their ensuing relationship weaves a timeless tapestry that both unravels the mystery of a tragic past and challenges them to understand a present passion filled with impossibility. They have help along the way. From intimate friends, from their art, from the wisdom of Lovina, an eccentric, endearing psychic who uses M&M's to talk to spirits, and from an extraordinary vision that changes everything.
Professional Reviews
Review #1
"Informed by the classic and tragic love affair of Heloise and Abelard, A Love Apart presents in lyric language and intelligent characterization, the idea that a profound spiritual love is a force that will not be denied. Using reincarnation, magic realism, and a medium's prescience, the novel explores that most perplexing of ideas: what makes you fall in love with someone? The story of the past love as it pertains to the present is like a literary pentimento—time fades to reveal beneath the surface story the beautiful and tragic one written 800 years before. And in this modern time something fine and carefully crafted is salvaged from love's sorrow."
--Gail Galloway Adams, author of The Purchase of Order
Review #2
"A Love Apart is an evocative and lush exploration of the internal and external landscapes of love and desire, in which the historical and contemporary intersect and intertwine in ways both surprising and intriguing
--Janice Eidus, author of The Celebacy Club
Review #3
A Love Apart is not merely a love story, it is a symphony of color, heartfelt emotion and sensual desire.
Can an eight hundred year old love affair survive the ages to be reborn again? Is it possible for love gone wrong to relive its intense emotion and correct a wrong?
Lily and Julian are strangers but something is pulling them together; something so powerful they cannot resist each other. Lily, bookstore owner and poet is haunted by dreams of another time and Julian, the artist is suddenly obsessed with painting a cathedral, a tortured monk and a long gone lifetime. What could this mean? How are Lily and Julian connected? Eight hundred years before another couple faced separation so intense it was unbearable, could Abelard and Heloise be haunting our modern day couple
Author, Rachelle Rogers is a writer whose story telling ability and writing style shine in this novel. Her writing draws the reader into the lives of the characters and does not let go even after the last page has been read. Julian's character reflects the author's in-depth knowledge of the art world as well as the literary world of heroine, Lily. The research on Abelard and Heloise is thorough and provides a brief look back to a time of unrequited love and inhuman retribution.
Intense, emotional and captivating this reviewer will be watching for more of her work in future. A most entertaining, enlightening and enjoyable read- Bravo Rachelle, this is a winner. Highly recommended by reviewer.
--Shirley Roe, Allbooks Reviews.
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