The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
Novel By Lynda Cohen Loigman
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a dual timeline novel that takes place in the 1920s and the 1980s. Augusta Stern is the youngest daughter of a local pharmacist. When her mother passes away, her father’s aunt, Esther, moves in. Esther considers herself an apothecary, but uses unconventional means to heal people’s ailments. During this time, Augusta’s father hires a delivery boy, Irving Rivkin, who Augusta develops feelings for. As their relationship blossoms, Augusta needs to know for sure that Irving loves her. So, she prepares a type of love potion to get Irving to express his true feelings. Things do not go well the night this happens. And Irving walks away leaving Augusta heartbroken.
Jump to the 1980s when Augusta is forced to retire to a community in Florida. There she meets Irving again and all the romantic feelings she had for him resurface. But do Augusta and Irving have another chance? And Augusta needs to know why Irving walked away all those years before. Throughout the course of the novel, the readers receive those answers. And those answers lead to the possibility of a second chance.
This was a sweet, original novel. My only problem is that the second chance came very late in their life. I would have preferred that it happened a little bit earlier. Sixty years is a very long time not to resolve some of the issues that Augusta had with Irving. Overall, though, it was a great novel that balances the importance of science and believing in miracles.
Rating: 4/5
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