Uncertain Age

"e;Where was my real soul mate, I wanted to know, and why were there no twitchy children on my lap, and how had I been so dumb to believe that beauty's currency would never run out? So, Paris...."e;Justine's life is uncertain when she meets Miles Peabody on the Eurostar. She has lost her job, her fianc everything except her dream of becoming an artist. Miles Peabody, a retired librarian and beekeeper, has always led a cautious, philosophical life. Now, faced with his mortality, he needs a miracle. Drawn inexplicably to each other, their relationship is tested when Miles invites Justine to join him on a Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. But before she can answer, Miles goes missing. Desperate to find him, and nudged by the French police, Justine slips into a dark night of the soul. As her radical search turns inward, she begins to explore her faith (or lack of). The love letters of Ablard and Hlose play a part-as do fractals, the physics of color, and Saint Teresa of vila's excruciating visions. Also a rare, gnostic book, Secrets of the Epinoia, which is as elusive as its owner. Helping Justine unravel the mystery of Miles are two women: Gwynneth, a lapsed Anglican, and Dara, a devout Hindu housekeeper (whose intentions Justine prays are good). Their cloistered world is turned upside-down when a charismatic visitor appears with the keys to Miles's past. Haunted by questions of truth, betrayal, and loss, it seems they are all connected in an unlikely, even mystical way-whether in France or Spain, England, or far-off places around the globe. An Uncertain Age by Ulrica Hume is a quirky, interfaith novel about astonishing grace, and longing in all its forms.