Greg Harris has been besotted ever since he was eight. As soon as the young Scot saw a photo of Ellen Fromm, a gorgeous ten-year-old from Wilmington, North Carolina, he was hooked by her soft, haunting smile.
He is devastated when, six years later, his beloved pen pal stops writing and vanishes. For many years he makes feverish attempts to contact her but in vain. He feels as if all meaning has gone out of his life. But he never forgets Ellen and clings to the dream that, one day, they will be together.
At last, when he is thirty, he finds a letter Ellen once wrote to his late granddad that transforms his life. When she and Greg eventually meet, it says, she reckons she may fancy him in a big way. As this boost revives his mission in life, Greg arranges a job in Wilmington, flies out and for ages hunts high and low for Ellen.
But a major doubt lurks in his mind. Ever since he was a boy, he has had Tourette’s Syndrome and it has cast a shadow over his life. He has never told Ellen about it. Even if he finds her, will his secret ruin his chance of happiness?
“The loveliest author ever” (Gillian Stern, one of the UK ’s most highly regarded book editors, who has worked with Bloomsbury and other major publishers).
Beautiful, Touching, Accurate The Girl with the Haunting Smile begins in America as Greg Harris, a thirty-something Scotsman, chases down the love of his life, receiving looks from curious passengers because of his odd expressions and facial contortions.The book then takes a dive into the narrator’s past, into childhood when these `tics’ first became a problem. In a very entertaining and often humorous manner, Greg narrates his experiences in school, with his teachers and his peers, and at home, with his parents and his neighbors, as everyone tries to understand and come to terms with these peculiarities of his.Greg later finds solace in a pen-pal, a beautiful girl in the States whose picture has him entranced the moment he first sees it. He writes to her obsessively and fantasizes about her constantly.The characters are really well thought out, the story is expertly written and plotted (with a nice rounded finish as we return to “adult Greg”) and the knowledge of the illnesses involved is spot on — I have personal experience with both TS and OCD.It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book where I felt so much for the main character. I was with him all the way, cheering him on and cringing when he did anything stupid, and not just because I could relate to him and see myself in him, but because he is so intricately and beautiful fleshed out.I couldn’t recommended this book highly enough. It is easily the best book I have read in a long time.
Nothing but joy If you ever grow weary of reading contemporary romance where both of the main characters are either essentially perfect from the very beginning of the story to the end or, adversely the conflict seems so predestined that you can’t believe the author would possibly be so cliched, this is the book for you. This author has taken the time to give the reader emotionally developed characters that you can’t help but like. When you start out reading this, you know from just a couple of pages in that this book has a lot more in store for you than the average romance.The characters in this book are quirky and perfectly combined with the story to make it a pleasurable read. I love the dialogue in this book and can’t see how it could possibly be better. As you grow with the main character throughout this book, you find yourself wondering what it would be like if you were to be in the same predicament. This book is a very human story about love, life and the quest to find what is important to you regardless of the obstacles life puts in the way. I loved it.
Totally Absorbing! There’s a well-worn phrase that applies to the best books: “I couldn’t put it down.” That’s exactly how I felt about ‘The Girl with the Haunting Smile’.I had thought it would be entirely about Tourette’s but in fact it’s a wonderful love story. It’s hard to believe this is Richard Louden’s first novel; he has clearly done heaps of research and it shows. It’s such intelligent writing and the story is attention grabbing and revealing. The characterisation is bang on and I could really empathise with Greg. I found that aspect very interesting as I had no idea that Tourette’s also encompassed OCD behaviours. Of further interest for me were other unexpected traits I would have associated with Asperger’s/autism (I have many Aspie tendencies, some of which impede me but most I consider a benefit and gratefully embrace with much appreciation).Throughout the book the author sustains interest very skilfully and creates extra momentum as we approach the last few chapters and the `will she, won’t she’ element of the final pages. I laughed a lot as well – there was everything in there. Totally absorbing!I need to read it again. Like any good story, you don’t grasp it all the first time and the writing is so clever that it’s worthy of a second read from that aspect alone.I can’t wait for the next one. Get a move on, Richard Louden!