A tear-jerking family drama

A young man (William Waters) from a dysfunctional family falls in love with a lass from a household of three inseparable sisters (Padvano sisters). This is the main premise of bestselling author Ann Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful. The characters are imperfect. Perhaps the reason why they come across as so beautiful and real through the pages. No wonder TV host cum writer Oprah Winfrey chose Hello Beautiful as her 100th book club pick.

The novel starts with William, a tall and strapping basketball player, who is an emotional wreck. It then spins around the close-knit Padavano sisters. William is smitten by the charms and confidence of Julia Padavano during their college days. The duo gets married and William becomes an integral part of the Padavano clan. Julia’s sister Sylvie is a bibliophile, Cecelia is a talented artist, and Emeline is the gravitational force that holds them all together. Unfortunately, Rose, the matriarch of the family is lost in oblivion between the pages.

William and the Padavano sisters lead a life full of chaos and togetherness. But can love alone make a person or family whole? This question lingers through the chapters. The author deftly takes us over the years through the dinner table conversations, daily chores, and happenings in the Padavano household. At some point, William’s past comes to haunt them. The very qualities that held him and Julia together now threaten to tear them apart. Julia’s well-organised life planning goes for a full toss. Worse still, the sisters now see the catastrophic faultiness in their interpersonal relationships.

Napolitano’s sentences have a lyrical grace. It makes reading easy and the story more interesting. Some side characters are a bit tardy, but the author has the knack for putting them in a situation and letting them make choices without passing any moral or value judgments. There are emotional outbursts, disappointments, grief, power of love moments, familial bonds, forgiveness, and a sense of belonging in Hello Beautiful. Some scenarios and decisions are a bit far-fetched but there is always room for improvement, both in life and storytelling!