Luka is five years old and Dora is two; Luka first sees Dora at nursery school and is so affected by the sight of her that he faints. Dora wakes him with a kiss and with the words: " You are my sleeping beauty, only mine, wake up my prince, you are my prince, only mine..." (Obviously a very articulate two-year-old). From this day onwards, Dora and Luka, who live in Croatia, are inseparable, or at least they are until Dora's family moves to Paris when she is six years old. Luka and Dora grow up with no further contact with each other; Dora fulfils her ambition to become an actress and Luka becomes a talented artist who travels to France for the opening of an exhibition of his pictures in a Parisian art gallery. By chance, Dora, who has never forgotten Luka, attends Luka's opening night and when he sees her across the room, he faints, and once again is awakened by Dora's voice saying "You are my sleeping beauty...my prince...." Now they have found each other again, Dora and Luka fall deeply in love with each other - although in truth they have always been in love with one another, but will they now be able to be together for always, or will something happen to force them apart yet again?
Natasa Dragnic's novel is the love story of two people who feel they are soul mates and that nothing should come between them or stop them from being together. It is quite a one dimensional story with virtually no other strands coming into play and the peripheral characters are just that - very much on the sidelines. I should imagine that, for many, the enjoyment of this novel will depend on how you respond to the characters of Luka and Dora, and how convincing you find their situation. I do have to admit that I found Luka a rather weak character who, when he finally manages to find Dora again, behaves in such an indecisive and vacillating way that I found him rather irritating (I would love to explain further but it would mean spoiling the story for prospective readers); Dora was by far the more decisive and determined of the two and becomes a much more interesting and forceful character as the story progresses.
Written in short chapters and with the use of a series of very brief sentences, some only two or three words long, interspersed with more flowing language when the author describes Luka and Dora's feelings for one another, I found this novel rather difficult to rate fairly. If you love unashamed romantic stories, where the love affair is the whole story, then this might well appeal to you; but I do have to be honest and say that I prefer a little more diversity to my fiction and I did find the content rather sentimental and a little unconvincing. However, that said and on a more positive note 'Every Day Every Hour' is an attractively presented book, it was a fairly pleasant and undemanding read and, with its short chapters, it's a good book to read 'on the go'. I should add that this is Natasa Dragnic's debut novel and, although this story was not really my favourite kind of reading matter, I would still be interested in seeing what the author decides on for her next fictional outing.
3 Stars
