reviewed on the bookshow by Ro Bennett 19th Dec 2013
This is a really good value holiday buy @ £3.80
paperback and £2.99 Kindle.
It is July 1976, and London is in the grip of an
intense heatwave. All over the city, people are coming unhinged, and the
Riordans are no exception. Retired banker Robert has left to buy a newspaper and
never returns. His wife, Gretta, calls their three children, who converge on the
family homestead for the first time in years. Michael Francis, full of regrets
for the decisions he has made, is worried sick that his marriage is over;
uptight Monica, trapped in a second marriage with two stepchildren who hate her,
is not speaking to the younger sister she practically raised; and Aoife, who has
taken herself off to Manhattan but cannot outrun the dyslexia that has made her
working life a virtual hell. As the siblings seek out clues to the whereabouts
of their father, O’Farrell, in her sixth novel, draws a beautiful portrait of
family life. The story really blossoms in the second half, when the Riordans end
their search in Ireland, where the family’s secrets and private feuds come
raging forth so that the true healing can begin.
I really liked this book. It was a relaxing,
absorbing read which was easy to concentrate on while I was travelling around
various places on the mainland.
I find Maggie O’Farrell very perceptive. Her
characters are well portrayed and I really felt drawn into their personalities
and found their complex interactions interesting and convincing. The author has
obviously carefully observed people and is adept at describing the parent-child
dynamics and sibling rivalry - the jealousies, the misunderstandings, the hurts,
resentments and grievances that are part of family life - how the family members
drift back into their practised and familiar roles when reunited. Gradually the
reader understands the underlying causes of the tensions between them all as the
layers of their past lives are revealed.
I felt so sorry for Aiofe who had grown up in an era
when dyslexia was not diagnosed or recognised. This had led to challenging
behaviour as she was growing up, which had an adverse effect on the whole
family. Now as an adult she still doesn’t know what is wrong with her but just
struggles painfully with her embarrassment and shame and the repercussions of
trying to hide the fact that she cannot read from her lover, family and
employer.
I really wanted to know how it would all unfold, why
Robert had disappeared - I kept trying to guess what his reason could be. I was
pretty sure I’d cracked it but all of my ideas were wrong. The author
skillfully builds up the feel of the stifling heatwave as it drags on and on, a
perfect backdrop for the increasing tension and drama developing in the Riordan
household. Crackling with unresolved issues and their aftermath just as a storm
builds up! Excellent!
I have enjoyed all of Maggie O’Farrell’s books and
this is no exception. It’s a well written, gripping book, well worth
reading.
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