Growing up, the Anderson sisters could not have been more different. Susie, the wild one, had an adventurous life while Camilla "Mills" followed a safer path. When Susie suddenly dies, Mills falls apart. Until she receives a bundle of mysterious letters from her estranged sister. Each letter instructs her to visit a place special to Susie, both to spread her ashes but also to uncover some truths Susie has long kept hidden from her family.
This somewhat convoluted story gets bogged down as it jumps between time periods but ultimately reaches a satisfying conclusion. Should appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty or Celeste Ng.
Touching ... This is a tale about women --- women at different times in our history, women from different social classes, women whose relationships with each other are confusing but also loving and supportive. What keeps us engrossed is our interest in finding out how they all come together and exactly what their relationships are ... At times, The Way From Here is a bit confusing because of the mixed timeline, but with a modicum of effort, it's not difficult to keep the storyline straight. We end up really caring for Margaret and her daughters, and we are happy that their lives are ultimately enriched thanks to Susie's efforts.
Sumptuous if implausible ... The sensual story of Susie’s youth on a Mediterranean island, where Camilla is instructed to scatter some of Susie’s ashes, is a delectable treat, but the convoluted layers of connections between David’s patrician family and Susie’s middle-class one strain credulity, as does the narrative device of having Susie, who was not ill or expecting to die, write letters sending her sister on a wild goose chase. The sun-soaked atmosphere has its charm, more so if one doesn’t try to make sense of the plot.
