The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert

The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert is this authors next novel.  I loved reading Ms Joubert's  Child of the River and also enjoyed reading this book.  This novel is not a part of a series though it has some of the major characters in Child of the River as minor characters in this one.  This novel begins as World War II starts to unfold.  Italian, Marco has fallen in love with Rachel who is Jewish and though Marco is not Jewish but rather Catholic he choses to help hide Rachel and her family in a mountain cave and live with them to keep them safe and also when they need food he sneaks down the mountain to find it for them and himself.  Eventually they are found and taken to a concentration camp where all but Marco dies of starvation and he is very emaciated and a constant cough.  After the war Marco gets back to his home and his parents and brother help him restore his health both mentally and physically.  Marco's health is so bad that his mother must find a way to heal his stomach in order for Marco to eat without constantly vomiting.  In addition Marco must find a way to heal his lungs which were weakened in the concentration camp.  Marco finally gets over the pneumonia but the cough continues.  His brother Antonio moves to South Africa and convinces Marco that the climate is much better for him there  since it is warm all the time there.

Lettie has followed in her father's footsteps and become a physician.  Marco is sent to her by Antonio to try to heal Marco's lungs.  Lettie has been having difficulty getting patients since African's didn't accept females as physicians. In fact Marco was Lettie's only male patient other than children.  Lettie cures Marco's pneumonia using the new antibiotic, penicillin but his lungs are forever damaged and every winter he gets pneumonia even with the warm weather.  Marco and Lettie fall in love but that does not end the trials that the two must face in their life. 

I recommend this book for any who love reading of WWII, who love reading of living in South Africa, who love reading Christian love stories or just historic novels.  This book is well written and Irma Joubert is a wonderful author.  I look forward to reading any novels that she writes.