Soul

By Tobsha Learner

Learner's The Witch of Cologne is an erotically-charged novel of people swept inexorably along by events they could not control. In Soul, Learner relates the story of Lavinia and Julia Huntington, passionate women trapped in emotional whirlpools that threaten to drown them and everyone they love.

In 19th century Britain, Lavinia is married to an older man who seems to appreciate her lively curiosity. Lavinia proves to be an apt pupil in both the study and the bedroom, glorying in the pleasures of the physical.

In 21st century Los Angeles, geneticist Julia is trying to identify people who can kill without remorse. Stunned to discover that she seems to possess the trait she is looking for, Julia is reassured of her emotions by her intense passion for her husband and her delight in her pregnancy.

In the past, Lavinia's desire for her husband grows, but his cools as he becomes fascinated with another. In the present, Julia's love overwhelms her husband, who leaves her.

Lavinia and Julia feel the tortures of passion unspent. Cold logic tells them that the deaths of their tormentors will bring them peace. Separated by a hundred years, two Huntington women face the same decision. Their choices will echo far into the future.



At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: May 19, 2008
• ISBN: 9781429938266

Tobsha Learner

Tobsha Learner was born and raised in England and has lived in both Australia and the USA. She is well-known in Australia as a playwright and her first collection of short stories, QUIVER, has sold over 150,000 copies internationally. Her third book - the bestselling THE WITCH OF COLOGNE - was her first work of historical fiction and was followed by another collection of short stories, TREMBLE, and three more novels, SOUL, SPHINX and THE MAP (the last two written as T. S. Learner). Tobsha divides her time between London, Sydney and California. Visit her websites: www.tobshalearner.com or www.tobshaseroticfiction.com

Reviews for Soul

[jen6e6moore · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I gave this one almost 150 pages before realizing that I didn't care and I probably wasn't going to. The writing is clumsy at best, and I just cannot bring myself to have an opinion about the main characters at all.

[anissaannalise-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very good (like 4.5 stars good). Nature vs. Nurture. Free will vs. genetics. Pure logic vs. the heart wanting what it wants. The story is told in two threads. Julia, our modern day geneticist & Lavinia, her great-great grandmother. The women's lives unfold for us as their marriages unravel & the aftermath of the events follow. I very much enjoyed that both women were scientifically minded & took their work seriously. I felt for Lavinia when she was cut off from hers & was glad Julia still had hers when everything else fell apart. Julia's research with the soldiers was a fascinating thread of the story & I still don't know on which side I am of the ethical implications of her undertaking it for the military. I'll be thinking about that for some time. That said, I enjoyed the resolution to it at the end. I did like how the Bakairi tribe & The Tempest were additional threads that tied the two women's stories together across time.

I was very interested in both women but other than them, I only really felt any empathy for Colonel Huntington (though the head shaving of Lavinia & subsequent forced visit to the phrenologist tested that). Julia's husband Klaus was just not sympathetic to me. Every time he showed up after the initial break, he seemed worse. I figured out fairly quickly what Carla's attitude was about & while I was appalled by her brazenness & borderline cruelty, I still wanted to know what made her tick. I was fairly intrigued by Hamish. Gabriel & Aloysius were only nominally interesting but her served their purpose well. I felt the same way about Lady Morgan. Naomi was interesting but not as deeply rendered as the rest.

The only thing a bit off was that the Americans in Julia's thread, don't speak generally as Americans do. Those instances stood out glaringly to me, not the least being that the instances were so frequent. Using "ring" instead of "call", "jumper" instead of "sweater" or "cardigan"; "primary" school teacher instead of "elementary" school teacher; "laying" a table instead of "setting" a table; a waitress in a diner saying saying "one serve of bacon, eggs..." instead of "one order of..."; a born & raised in L.A. soldier saying "get on" instead of "get along"; "night porter" not "security guard". And even with all of those, they were only distractions because it was still a great read. I'd definitely read another by this author.

[melumebelle-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A quick read, this book could sometimes be "deep" but at other times seemed to be quite shallow. Not my favorite.

[reina10_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in two different centuries, this intriguing story questions whether the potential to be a killer can be passed on from one generation to the next. Lavinia, living in the 17th Century, is married to Col. James Huntington. Although she entered the marriage with high hopes, she discovers her husband is keeping a secret that eventually destroys their marriage, and leads Lavinia down a path she never imagined. Centuries later, Lavinia's great granddaughter, Julia, is a genetic scientist working to find the gene enables a person to kill with remorse. While expecting her first child, Julia's life is turned upside down when her husband leaves her for her best friend. What makes a killer nature or nurture? These two stories explore this question, while providing intriguing story lines that are hard to put down. Both stories will keep the reader fascinated as the characters struggle with complicated emotions that range from love to hate.

[bzedan_2 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

So this is 'fictional science' more than science fiction. Pretend genetic research in an (overly time-stamped) 2002 that is shadowed by events in the mid-late 1800's does not speculative, nor science fiction make. Not a problem unless that is what one is expecting, I suppose.But like I parenthesised, way too time-stamped. Who are these people and events you are referencing, totally dating and damaging your prose with, m'dear? Oh wait, they are so obvious I cannot miss them. The past bits are better.

[zerraweth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was going to give this only 4.5 stars but then I realised that there was nothing I really disliked it. Compelling, painful in the right way, and very clever.