"Sometimes a random moment occurs, and then you realise it came with a small halo"

Less is more; depth in simplicity and beauty . Room on the Sea is just this - a novella with a powerful and reflective message about life and unspoken dreams or regrets.

Catherine and Paul are strangers and are requested to attend selection for jury service; Catherine is a psychologist and Paul a lawyer. whilst awaiting selection, they strike up a conversation that will change their lives.

Set over the course of five days, the two sixty-somethings embark on a discovery- self exploration of the people they are, who they thought they were and what they could still be.

"We're just two ordinary lonely people who happen to be married and at this point may not want the furniture moved around too much."

André Aciman has a beautiful eye for the minutiae in lives- the unsaid ; those invisible withheld emotions and the joy of finding life in the smallest joys.

This is a moving story as the two characters embark through a work of transformation- rather like a Close Encounter ( Noel Coward) for the 2020's.

Subtle, enchanting and exquisite - a novel to make those of a certain age reflect or maybe everyone ..life is precious and its easy to squander it.

A highly recommended read.

Quotes: " Ive forgotten what it's like to be with someone who is eager to laugh with me, to know what I like, what I think and with whomI'm dying to speak every day"

" The problem with people our age, " she went on, " is that we've lived through or imagined too many variations on the same scene and know where most lead."...... We even know better than to speak our doubts, much less to those who shouldn't hear them for fear they'd change their minds bout us."

What a beautiful short novel. Only 160 or so pages long but I savoured every page. The story of Catherine And Paul who meet in a waiting room for potential jury service. An immediate spark flies between them and in between jury selection sessions they meet for breakfast and lunch which then turns into a drink ata the end of the day, which then becomes more and more. Both in their sixties, married and with grandchildren, can they upend their lives for the promise of something more.