Lettie has always felt overshadowed and overlooked in life and finds that she needs to tread a crooked path in order to achieve the life she wants and deserves.

Lettie Louw has always considered herself "the plain girl" - smart, yes, but nothing spectacular in the beauty and charm department. As her first one-sided love has shown her!
Yet, there is a great love waiting for her. And life lived together in the good times and the bad ones...hardships, loss, togetherness. Loss. And then...hope?

I recomend to read the previous novel by the same author, Child of the River, first - The Crooked Path is not a follow-up, but more the novel inhabiting the same world and starring many of the beloved characters.

To be honest - this novel reads like a memoir. Very finely crafted one, as Ms Joubert is an immensely gifted storyteller - yet, I am unsure what to take out as a theme for the novel. Maybe the ordinary life, that can always get surprised by an unexpected - and that the unexpected gifts can be the best. We meet crushing pain, yes - but we can be offered an unexpected love, too.
And this is very fine motif and take-out, yes. Yet...I would like certain lightness incorporated, too, and maybe more action, less looking-back-to-years-lived setup?
Also - Marco. I feel that his life and his (great) losses - and his courage to face the life again - are given much less attention that the guy deserves.

Having said that, I wish to say that I greatly admire the authoress's gift of telling even a quiet story as a fascinating one - the ability to prove that there is no ordinary life.

My Review:


I was absolutely thrilled to discover that The Crooked Path is a parallel companion/sequel to Child of the River. This book's storyline intersects and entwines with it's companion, sharing many of the main characters and following them through the decades starting a few years before WWII.



Lettie Louw is an intelligent young woman who follows in her father's footsteps, training to be a doctor in South Africa. Lettie is a good friend, supportive, compassionate, with a strong moral compass and respect for the truth. Her first patient is Marco Romanelli, an Italian man who weathered the horrors of Concentration Camp, with compromised health and a weakened immune system.



I admired Lettie for her strengths and vulnerabilities, she captured my heart instantly as a body conscious teenager, in love with a boy who doesn't notice her. She is compassionate and empathetic, often thinking of others, how they will feel, and always treating others with respect.



I loved how this book takes place over the course of multiple decades, showing snapshots of important moments in Marco and Lettie's lives, we see couples fall in love, children born, and people die. And even though the years are spinning by, I never felt like I missed even a beat. Gripping from the very first page, I was delighted revisit many of families from Child of the River, like De Wet, Boelie, Christine, and Persomi, just to name a few. I savored immersing myself in a different culture, sharing their triumphs and heartbreak in this powerful read that showcases the human condition. This book showed a very different side of South Africa than its companion, focusing more on the medical side and the Polio epidemic in South Africa.



Overall, a thoroughly tremendous read, Ms. Joubert is a masterful wordsmith, weaving a story that shows multiple families as they struggle through loss, love, forgiveness, and finding hope in second chances. The translation from Afrikaans is excellent. The faith element was handled very well, it was never preachy, and there were no pat answers.While the characters might not have spoken about their faith all the time, what was more powerful to me was how they lived it and how much it held weight in their lives by their actions.



A heartfelt read, I cried over their heartbreaks, and rejoiced with their triumphs. Heartbreaking, yet full of hope. One of my favorite books read this year, I can't recommend this book enough!





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising."

I enjoy Irma Joubert's writing so much, and I sincerely wish that more of her books would be translated into English. The Crooked Path includes the same characters that are in her book The Girl from the River. However, I don't think that it matters which way round one reads them.

The Crooked Path is a lovely story, and I appreciate the research that Joubert undertakes with her novels. This book takes place in South Africa and Italy and begins before the Second World War. Much of the storyline revolves around the book include friendships, antisemitism, polio outbreak, rural life in mid-1900 South Africa, World War 2, racism. Lettie and Marco, the primary heroine/hero of this novel, share a tender love story that grows and blossoms into a beautiful life together.

I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC from NetGalley, for this my honest review and my thanks to them for allowing me to read and review this excellent novel.

An outstanding historical fiction novel that touches parts of even the hardest of hearts! Full of authentic historical details and standout characters this is a story that won't fail to sweep you along with it!

This was a nice read. This story was about two people Lettie (a South African doctor) & Marco (an Italian teacher) who both met & fell in love with each other after WW2. We learn about them both before the war. It was a nice story but I did had a few complaints. The book spans for decades yet we don't get dates. You have to figure it out yourself.. Like one instance, Marco & Lettie's daughters were still kids in one page and a few pages later they were adults. The writing wasn't bad, it just was confusing sometimes.. This book was told in the perspective of Marco & Lettie. Yet we only get Marco's perspective for a small portion of the book. So this is more of Lettie's story. I wish we got more closure for some of the characters. I also wished Marco would have lived longer. His death came out of nowhere. The last part of the book dealt with Lettie moving on with her life and taking chances at love again. If this was about Lettie looking back at her life, I wish we could have gotten a prologue explaining things

Anyways, it wasn't a bad story just not for me.

The Crooked Path. We all walk a path that sometimes straight and sometimes winding. The characters in this book, especially Marco have to make difficult life changing decisions. He does his best to protect his beloved Rachel and her family during the war. They hide in the mountains for a very long period of time. Then are captured and took to a camp. He holds onto hope as much as he can . He learns all if the family have perished. He is eventually released. He is I'll from his time in the camp. He meets Lettie and rebuilds his life. He has a family and tries to move on. He is still very sick at times and it is a difficult road. But he and his family stay on the path.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

This was a wonderful novel. A purely beautiful love story set in a gorgeous landscape. It left me smiling when I finished it. My only regret is that I had not read the previous book "Child of the River" first, but I will be reading it now.

I will be looking for more of this author's works for sure.

The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert is the sequel to Child of the River, both of which are published by Thomas Nelson and set in South Africa during the mid-1900s.

This was such a beautiful book! Joubert takes us on a heartfelt, emotional journey through the lives of a group of friends growing up in South Africa during World War II, and the plot line coincides with that of Child of the River. The characters grab onto your heartstrings and won’t let go! I finished this book in just a couple of days. It felt like a short story but also a good, hearty one because there wasn’t a moment where the plot dragged or slowed. I was constantly kept guessing as to what would happen next, which is somewhat unusual in books for me. I was caught off guard several times by the plot twists, and had four or five burst-into-tears moments and one throw-the-book-across-the-room moment. The South African setting lent a unique perspective to the second World War, and the message of the book about life being a crooked path yet one worth walking on was beautifully intertwined into the story. This is a story I will want to read over and over, and tell all my friends and family about. It is, quite frankly, phenomenal.

Thank you to the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Guild for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion – which I’ve done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2235848943?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Sometimes life leads you along a strange crooked path, but in the end it will always take you where you're supposed to be.

A delightful character driven book that begins before World War II. Where hope and promise is all that you cling to. Lettie Louw is surrounded by good friends, she is studious and loyal but does not see love in her future. She practices medicine with her father in South Africa. Her life takes a turn when Marco Romanelli comes to South Africa after the war. He suffers from weakened lungs as he was a prisoner in a Jewish camp. His brother, Antonio, lives in South Africa with his family and suggests that Marco teach at the university and get the care that he needs from Lettie.

Marco and Lettie connection is professional at first however, their attraction to character is deep. Marco's character is one of deep commitment. His story starts with his first love Rachel a Jewish girl whom he professes his love and as the Nazi's take over, he is committed to her family for their safety. Their story is heartbreaking and speaks of deep courage of hope. His character continues to shine as he and Lettie connect. They discover each other, they get each other and make beautiful Amore!


Their story also reflects the plight of polio and the fear that it brought to families in the region. It is a story of love, pain, loss and hope. I was completely enthralled with this one.

A Special Thank You to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Irma Joubert, and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review The Crooked Path.

From the description given on NetGalley:

"From the bestselling author of The Girl From the Train, comes another compelling coming of age story of delayed love, loss, and reconciliation in WWII-era South Africa.

Lettie has always felt different from and overshadowed by the women around her– this friend is richer, that friend is more beautiful, those friends are closer. Still, she doesn’t let this hold her back. She works hard to apply her mind, trying to compensate for her perceived lack of beauty with diligent academic work and a successful career as a doctor. She learns to treasure her friendships, but she still wonders if any man will ever return her interest.

Marco’s experience in the second world war have robbed him of love and health. When winters in his native Italy prove dangerous to his health even after the war has ended, he moves to South Africa to be with his brother, husband to one of Lettie’s best friends. Marco is Lettie’s first patient, and their relationship grows as she aids him on the road back to restored health.

In the company of beloved characters from The Child of the River, Marco and Lettie find a happiness that neither of them thought possible. With that joy comes pain and loss, but Lettie learns that life—while perhaps a crooked path—is always a journey worth taking."

I enjoyed this novel and look forward to picking up The Girl From the Train. 4/5 stars.

Another homerun for Joubert. Any book this author writes is sure to be a hit with patrons.

I personally did not care for this book. It seemed to jump around a lot. I later found out that these characters were in another book and it might have helped had I read that one first.

Lettie never considered herself beautiful; comparing herself with her good friends always left her feeling ugly and fat. Instead, she poured herself into her studies and followed in her father's footsteps to become a doctor. She eventually decided that life was easier without love. After all, love had only brought her heartache.

Marco fell head over heels for the new girl in town. Even though his parents and the townsfolk didn't agree at first, everyone came to accept them as a pair. When her life was in danger, he took her whole family up into the mountains to hide. He hoped that he would be able to keep Rachel and her family safe - to protect the one he had come to love with his whole heart and soul. Plans don't always go as we'd like however. The war took far too much... loved ones, friends, limbs, health, wholeness...

The Crooked Path is full of loss and grief, full of love and joy, and full of every emotion in-between. Set in such a tumultuous time period where life was never simple and was never without loss, the author has crafted the story of a group of good friends and family who find joy despite the pain and love when they least expect it. I loved their friendship and how they supported each other in the hard times and rejoiced together in the good ones. The book reminds us that, despite the pain, life is also full of joy and goodness, just like the beauty of a rainbow after a rainstorm. I can hardly imagine living a life filled with so much loss and hardship; however, Lettie, Marco, Antonio, De Wit, Klara and all the others just kept walking down the path that was set before them. They drew strength from their faith in God and from their friendships with each other. As Lettie and Marco both learn, the crooked path is rarely the one that we would choose for ourselves, but it can be good.

I like historical fiction set in WWII, but I haven't read another book that weaves together both the history of Italy and the experience of the people there with the life, culture and events happening in South Africa. Not only is the setting unique, the author shared in the notes in the end how she draws much of her inspiration directly from first-hand accounts and stories that others have shared with her. Because of her desire for authenticity, I think she captures life in the lines of a novel, breathing breathe into the lungs of the people on the page. The Crooked Path might make you cry at times - it might make you mad - and it will probably encourage you to keeping walking down the path set before you.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing an electronic copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

This author's books are different that most things you will read on the American market, I would say. The language style is very different to begin with, but it is intriguing and pulls you into the story immediately. I opened this book and didn't want to put it down. I ended up staying up late reading, which is something that has not happened for awhile as I am generally too exhausted to push through. 

While this book breaks a lot of the rules when it comes to writing, it has a quality about it that makes you enjoy it. The history, the culture of South Africa, Italy and the characters from the previous book make this story one you will be thinking about after you put it down. Romantic? No, not really. While there is more real life romance spoken of throughout the story, the pain that comes with real life romance is also present. Don't read this book for romance. The journey of discovery of the meaning of life and love is more incredible as well as the history of the polio vaccine  as well. 

I obtained this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed herein are my own. 

This book is available for purchase from your local bookseller and Amazon. 


If you do buy a copy, I recommend buying the previous book to read first. The characters from the first book are mentioned as the timelines coincide.

Crooked Path is a magical story. It is about Lettie who has grown up in South Africa with her father happen to be the town's Doctor. She falls for De Wit. But he falls For someone else – because of that she goes to Johannesburg – to get her doctor's degree . She is there during World War II during college – De Wit married one of her friends and breaks her heart a beautiful thing happens she meets Marco goes and falls in love and something special – very special – everything happen because of what happens to the environment . What happens? What do they do? You have to read this book.

I feel like I should of read Irma's previous books to fully appreciate this story. I thought it was interesting how the story covered such a span of time.

The Crooked Path
by Irma Joubert

Thomas Nelson--FICTION
Thomas Nelson

Christian , Historical Fiction
Pub Date 07 Nov 2017


I am reviewing a copy of The Crooked Path through Thomas Nelson and Netgalley:
Lettie feels different and overshadowed by the women in her life. Her friends are richer and prettier so she thinks but she does not want to let that stop her from achieving her dreams. She works hard and becomes a doctor not an easy feat for a woman in the 1940's.

Marco was changed by his experiences in the Second World War, he was robbed of both love and health. Winters in his native Italy prove to be dangerous to his health so he moves to South Africa to be with his brother whose the husband of one of Lettie's best friends. Marco becomes Lettie's first patient and their relationship grows s she helps him on the road back to good health.

If you are looking for an engrossing read that speaks of love, faith and determination I recommend The Crooked Path.

Five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!