Book Review: The Love of My Life by Louise Douglas

Wow, this book completely blew me away, it is definitely the best book that I have read so far this year. This is Louise Douglas' debut novel which is hard to believe as you read it due to how accomplished the writing is. Here is the story:

Olivia knew she'd never love anyone like she'd loved Luca. He was everything to her, her whole world, and now he'd gone. They had grown up together in a bleak, northern, sea-side twon, where his family ran Marinella's restaurant, and when they eloped to London his mother never forgave Olivia for taking him away.
As she begins to try and come to terms with Lucas' death, Olivia realises that she has to return to Watersford, where he has been buried. It is in a chance meeting with his twin brother, Marc, that she realises his loss is almost as painful as her own. Their desolation leads them to follow a path which has no future, and which will prove to have devastating consequences for the entire family.

This book reminded me so much of Maggie O'Farrell's book After You'd Gone, these two books are the best that I have ever read about dealing with grief and loss.
Initially, I was quite shocked at Olivia starting a relationship with Marc so soon after Lucas' death but as I got to know her character and the relationship she had lost, I could understand how she could do such a thing, she needed to do it in order to grieve and move on in life.
I loved how Louise Douglas personified Olivia's grief as a black dog. I know that it is often a way of describing depression but I thought that it was so appropriate for grief. This black dog of grief becomes Olivia's faithful companion:

On the occasional instance when I forgot what had happened, the dog was there to remind me, its breath hot in my ear. At some point, I thought, I would have to chase the dog away, throw metaphorical stones at it or something. But for the time being I welcomed the dog into my own life, even went so far as to talk to it.

Louise Douglas really gets under the skin of Olivia; she is such an honest character, she has done things that she isn't proud of but she doesn't try to hide them. The book stirred up so many emotions in me and there was a couple of times that I had to put it down as it had made me cry. Even though I have never expereinced grief at the level that Olivia does in the book, I still felt as though I could identify with her. The author gives you such a complete picture and history of her and Luca's relationship that you can fully understand her pain.
This book is beautifully written, the subject matter is dealt with brilliantly, I can't wait for Louise Douglas' next book.