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Annie completed graduate school, endured a failed engagement, and fled to the Costa del Sol in Spain. She is seduced by Franciso, a local musician and is totally smitten by his charms. That was in the summer of 1980. Twenty years later, Annie's teenage daughter searches for Francisco, as she backpacks through Spain. Mariella's search is successful, and Francisco's reappearance brings powerful feelings back into Annie's life.
This Nearly was Mine, by Nancy Farkas, centers around Annie's love and devotion to her present husband, Matthew, and the life she has fantasized about with Francisco for over twenty years. Farkas has written an emotional, romantic novel filled with characters that are memorable from the beginning of the book. It reads like a deeply personal and honest narrative. Annie doesn't seem to be able to leave behind memories of the people and times she spent in Spain. Her husband, Matthew, appears to be an acceptable mate, but is nothing like her seductive Francisco. She has had an all-consuming romance with him. Even though her affair did not last, the memories of their passion fill every page of this delightful romance novel. You can feel the anguish she endured for twenty years of her life. I found this book to be moving and endearing. This romance has had a lasting effect on Annie's life, even though time and distance have separated her from the one she still loves. The book does appear to read as a travelogue, and the scenes are so real and beautiful. You can actually picture each countryside area that Annie and Francisco visited together. I did find the plot a little odd, however, considering it was Annie's daughter who went in search of her mother's long-lost love. It was also strange that Annie would take her husband to Finland so that he and Francisco could meet. I cannot see that happening in today's society. It did make for a delightful plot, however. This is definitely a girly book, and I did find it difficult to put down. It makes you wonder if things could have turned out differently for the lovers. I'm certain some readers will relate to some part of the love story and relive some of their own life experiences. I really did enjoy this book, as it was funny and heartbreaking at the same time. It is about first love, old love and never-dying love. I rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to young adult readers. It is filled with bittersweet tales, and the characters are indeed memorable. I look forward to another Nancy Farkas romantic tale.
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This Nearly Was Mine by Nancy Farkas is a romantic memoir. The story follows Annie as she reminisces about a life-changing summer in Spain. When her daughter tracks down a flame from Annie’s past, Annie begins to wonder if the love she left behind in Spain was her true soulmate.
In 1980, Annie decides to take a vacation to her parents’ vacation home in Costa del Sol, Spain. During her summer in Spain, Annie hosts various friends from the United States and introduces new characters such as Gustavo, Pablo, and Johann. However, her most important relationship is with Francisco, the handsome concierge in Annie’s apartment building. Over the course of a few months, Annie and Francisco fall deeply in love and dive into a whirlwind affair. As the summer draws to an end, Annie returns to New York and ultimately settles down with her husband, presumably leaving her Spanish romance behind. Nearly thirty years later, Francisco re-enters the story, and Annie faces a difficult choice in her search for love, romance, and happiness. The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards and goes back and forth between Annie’s past and current lives. While this technique is unique, it makes it difficult to follow the story at times. The writing was often disjointed, and there are numerous passages where the author goes on tangents that did not contribute to the plot. My favorite part of the book is the vivid imagery that Farkas uses to describe Spain. She illustrates with incredible detail as she depicts the food, wildlife, and sweltering summer heat. I also appreciated the cultural anecdotes, such as noting the songs playing on the radio during certain years and highlighting the differences in technology between 1980 and 2006. The author puts a lot of effort into detailing the characters of Annie and Francisco. Since the story comes from Annie’s point of view, the reader gets a strong sense of her conflicting emotions and heartfelt struggles. However, most of Annie's friends and family do not contribute to the story; at times, it seems like the author only mentions certain characters as an outlet to complain about the people they were based on. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I would be inclined to add another star if the writing style were more organized, including limiting the time-hopping and editing out passages that do not contribute to the story. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs, autobiographies, and exploring the psychology of relationships. I also recommend this book to anyone looking for 1980s nostalgia. However, I do not recommend this book to readers who are looking for typical romance novels or who need a satisfying conclusion. This Nearly Was Mine by Nancy Farkas begins with a story of Annie's daughter Marielle traveling to the south of Spain, looking for a man named Francisco. The man whom her mother had an affair with back in 1980 when she too was young.
Annie decides to take a vacation to her parent's vacation apartment in Costa Del Sol, Spain. She has various friends visit her while she is there taking stock of her life, and trying to decipher her feelings about her fiance' Bill. Moreover, while in Spain, Annie meets Francisco. Adamant she will not fall in love with him, she remains stubborn at first but ultimately falls for this charming, genuine, handsome man with a very distinct and sexy chin and has a very steamy love affair. She tells herself she must only be in love with Spain itself, rather than in love with Francisco. Ultimately, Annie goes back to the US where she realizes fiance' Bill is a Philanderer and eventually breaks it off with him, but quickly jumps into a relationship with Matthew. She ultimately marries Matthew, who is a world-class workaholic and they eventually have three children. At various times throughout the story Annie, her kids and sometimes even her husband travel to Europe and meet up with Francisco. Matthew turned out not to be the warm, adoring husband that Annie had hoped, and she continually compares her life with what life with Francisco might have been. Every time she meets up with Francisco either in person or via technology, it ignites the powerful feelings she doesn't want to admit she has. Continually Faced with the moral dilemma of, is their relationship right, Annie questions her love for Francisco. This novel is a story about romantic struggles and oddly unique relationships. There are moral and religious questions that arise in such a fashion that I have to wonder if they may be questions the author is struggling with herself. It is a work of fiction that reads like a memoir. Written, so you feel you are sitting next to Annie, maybe having a cup of coffee, as she is describing to you this incredible tale. The characters of Annie and Francisco are so well defined and portrayed that you might have the feeling you know them. However, the other characters are left lacking and don't seem to contribute much to propel the story forward than the fact they are Annie's family. By including the family and other events, you are able then to judge the passing of time. The author often compares the lack of technology in the 1980's with today's abundance in regards to the ability to communicate around the globe. Watch out; you may find yourself reminiscing on your own past life and possibly those misguided romances you may have experienced yourself. It brings up what may be many a woman's fantasies of past loves and the questions of, "what would my life be like if only?" I found a few errors in grammar, but they did not affect the reading of the story. At times I did find the author a bit tedious in her portrayal of Annie's thoughts regarding her relationship with Francisco and the book dragged somewhat because of that. Therefore, I give it a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this story to readers who enjoy memoirs, autobiographies or other based on real-life fiction. Being written from a woman's perspective makes the book more appropriate for female readers, but I wouldn't say men would not enjoy it too. I would stress however for readers over the age of 16, as the writer herself warns the reader of the explicit sexual exploits within the book. This nearly was mine is a novel that recounts and narrates the life of Annie beginning from her graduation from graduate school. Annie, who is currently married to Matthew and has two kids, tells of the life she could have had if she had remained in Spain. She had traveled to Spain to get away from her first love - Bill...
Perhaps the biggest and best element of this novel is the humor packed within its pages. In this regard, Nancy Farkas did a tremendous job. The story is told from Annie's point of view and encompasses little bits of random musings from her regarding the past and present events of her life. These musings made the story much more interesting and even more difficult to put down. Once you get into Annie's head, there is nowhere else you'd rather be. It was also very fun when Annie would speak to us (the readers) directly. I have always believed that humor can be used as the distinguishing factor between two equally good books and for that, I appreciated the author's efforts and achievement at that. Another element of the story that I truly appreciated was the use of extensive use of flashbacks in the narration of the story. In essence, much of the story is set in the past life and adventures of Annie in Spain. This meant that the author had to keep taking us back in time so Annie can explain what happened. This was very well done such that it did not disrupt the flow of the story. It also helped show the character development of the character Annie in the best light; Annie herself acknowledged as much. I absolutely do not have any complaints with this novel. Sure, there were a few grammatical errors here and there, especially lack of spacing between words, but these errors did nothing to detract from the overall flow of the story. For this reason, I have to rate the novel 4 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed myself from the first page to the last and I highly recommend it to avid romance readers. They will enjoy the novel as well. |
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