Adele Geras - A Hidden Life

Review by Babs Simpson on show 8th July 2010
This is a very satisfying read for anyone who enjoys a really good family saga.
It begins with the reading of the Will of Constance Barrington, late owner of a large house on the South Coast and a wealthy estate. Her extended family has gathered, her son Matthew, his former and present wives as well as Nessa and Justin, his children by his first wife and Louisa, daughter of his second.
The contents of the Will comes as an enormous shock to each member of the family - Constance was a very difficult woman with a knack of upsetting everyone, which she obviously enjoyed.
Louisa, whose story is the main thread of the book, has escaped from an abusive partner with her little daughter Poppy and is struggling to support them both. She was very close to her grandfather, Constance's husband and inherits the copyright of his unsuccessful novels as well as his personal papers. But she adored him and loved the sanitized stories he told her about his early years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in North Borneo and is inspired to try to write a screenplay of the first novel, 'Blind Moon'. The more she uncovers, the more she comes to realise that the story was not fiction, but an actual account of his and his mother's experiences and those of the woman who adopted him after his repatriation to the UK.
There are many strands to this novel, the lives and loves of all the family, the events that shape their lives and most of all, the unravelling of some terrible secrets.
It is very satisfying and enjoyable and I found myself really caring about what happened to them all.
It's in St Mary's Library and if you are looking for an excellent read with a well told, believable and intriguing story, you wont be disappointed.
review by Babs