Member Review

I have not had the privilege of having read the author's previous book, but having heard rave reviews about it, I was eager to read this book when it became available on NetGalley. 

This is a story of mostly one woman and her flamboyant surroundings and equally colourful people. One of whom (the lady of the title) is represented by the red shoes she wears. Masha is still weighed down by the tragic occurrence of years before and is only now coming out of its hold. She is assisted in this by vivid people and by sheer effort. It is not only Sally of the red shoes though, there are others who contribute to the eccentricity of the surroundings. There is also a parallel life of troubled Alice. The story has heart, but my problem with it was it felt a little disjointed. As independent occurrences, the events could tug the heartstrings but put together it was a little confusing.  There was also a very obvious conclusion which is not openly revealed till the very end. Considering my high hopes for this book, I was a little disappointed but it might be a good read for someone who goes in without the aforementioned hopes. As I mentioned, it is about the resilient human spirit and Masha has enough imagination to  keep us entertained for the duration of the book.