‘One Apple Tasted’ by Josa Young

Josa Young’s first novel is utterly delicious: sharp, sweet and crunchy. It’s the kind of book you should devour in a couple of sittings ideally with some choice chocolates by your side, wrapped in a cashmere blanket with the rain lashing and the wind howling outside, as I just did. At its core the novel is a romance but one with many twists where the female characters are the real heroes – and thoroughly modern women.

In particular, I enjoyed the time slip elements of the novel; we start in 1982, dip into the ’50′s, a moment in the late ’30s and fast forward to the ’90′s and conclude in 2009. This gives us the sensation of an epic romance and in some ways it is – we certainly see Dora, the central character, growing up and finding her own way in the world. More than this though we receive a deeper insight into the motivations and characters of the key protagonists, in particular the mothers and Godmother/aunt figures in the book in addition to a sense of how women’s roles and opportunities have evolved over recent years.

There are pregnancies, births, marriages for love, for convenience, for other more sinister reasons, there are deaths and funerals, parties and some very beautiful clothes. There is glittering London, dusty rural India, literature, art and dollops of sex but not of the breathless romantic climax sort – a more real sort where emotions can get in the way and things may not be as they appear. There are some very funny moments, I laughed out loud on the final line, but there are some very painful bits too where the characters hurt each other both consciously and unknowingly.

The novel by no means follows a standard format for romantic fiction and every now and again when you are hoping the story isn’t about to close, because you are enjoying it so much and want more, a new conflict arises and it flicks into a new direction allowing a while more reading pleasure. When it does wrap itself up though, everything’s right and true and you will put the book down content that all is well with the world.

I will be posting an interview with Josa on this site shortly, and with it a competition for you to win a copy of ‘One Apple Tasted’!