My Five Word TL:DR Review: I Absolutely Loved This Book

I don’t know where to begin with this review simply because this book blew me away and I don’t want to write an incoherent babbling review. This was such a beautiful, evocative story. Oozing with nostalgia with an undercurrent of darkness that gives you a feeling of unease as the story unfolds and woven together with the most lush writing. A literary feast for the eyes this is a coming of age tale that really delivers the wow factor.

This is a story about the Sharpe family. Edith Sharpe is a writer, her husband Llewelyn an actor and they have two children, Ennis and Guinevere. The MC is Guin and the story jumps back and forth between the current day and the fascinating glimpses into their childhood. Edith and Llewelyn have a very difficult relationship, tempestuous, passionate, fickle even. They’ve moved to the country, to a family home surrounded by fields, orchards and forest. Edith desperately wants to create a bestseller, at the same time she wants to remove her husband to a safe distance, where his wandering eye will have less temptation. As it happens, Edith does indeed write a bestseller, a book that becomes adored around the world and a story that includes two characters, not only who are described in identical terms to Guin and Ennis but who even have the same names. Edith’s rise to fame is in complete contrast to Llewelyn’s downfall, he seems to lose his purpose and between his apathy and Edith’s total absorption in her work the two children fall between the cracks. Often going unnoticed, unfed, dirty and basically neglected.

Edith’s fame thrusts the family into the throes of hangers on, ardent fans and other creative types who simply want to be close to Edith. The children certainly don’t enjoy this new found fame and the obsession that it entails, made even worse by the fact that their mother didn’t shelter them at all, not even troubling to change their names. But, all of this heady chaos is about to come crashing down when a fire takes away the house and Guin and Ennis’s parents. Jump forward, the two siblings are estranged, Guin has a memoir about to be released focusing on her shiny happy childhood and Ennis, now a famous artist, is about to open a new show simply titled ‘Mother’ which sends Guin into a downward spiral at the thought of what it could possibly contain.

What did I love about this book?

It is a pleasure to read. The writing is wonderful and makes me happy to be a reader. If I was going to choose I would have to say that the childhood chapters were my favourites. The descriptions of the house, sometimes it sounds amazing, sometimes it sounds almost like a character, mildly threatening and always watching. Guin and Ennis’s childhood likewise sometimes comes across as idyllic, certainly Edith’s adoring fans are in awe of the children and most would give anything to trade places. In reality, and although Guin tends to look back at things wearing rose tinted glasses at times the grim reality also comes through. They don’t seem to have any schooling. More often than not the cupboards are bare. Nobody tucks them into bed any more (Llewelyn used to care for them but now seems to be in the grips of depression and despair), there are no hugs, no stories and no apparent love. The two are inseparable, they come across as slightly ethereal and clearly others see this about them too, it gives them a certain kind of aura that only adds to their appeal.

I wouldn’t say this is a quick read, but this isn’t something that I mind. If I’m enjoying the book and the writing is this good I’m just plain old happy to be absorbed in the pages.

I liked Guin. She misses her brother desperately and has spent years trying to locate him but he manages to evade her attempts. The two shared such a lot of time together that it’s almost like she is no longer a complete person. Guin has been maintaining the family ‘brand’ now for many years. Edith’s books remain ever popular and Guin is part of the promotion wagon. Her own book continues to ‘sell the dream’ even though the reality was anything but sparkly. She becomes absolutely desperate to find Ennis, of course she’s worried about what he’s going to reveal, which is odd given that her own recollections have been somewhat glossed over in an almost fairytale fashion, but her fears start to awaken memories from the past and as the days tick down to the opening of ‘Mother’ she really is becoming a disaster, to such an extent that as a reader I was becoming anxious too! I wanted her to get a grip and get her life back under control but its not as easy as it sounds.

There’s a dreamlike quality to the story, parts of it almost glossy and sparkly, sprinkled with undercurrents of magical realism, is there something strange about the house, the buzzy orchard, rich with sticky fruit? One moment everything is glittering with fairy dust, so beautiful that you want a part of it and the next there’s almost a grubby seediness to it all. What felt beautiful and glamorous only moments before now has an ugly sheen. Also, I love all the little tidbits of information about Edith’s books, they sound like something I would love to read.

Now, I confess that my thoughts were going in every direction – except the correct one that is. I didn’t second guess the ending at all, in fact I was clueless and had gone off on the wrong path completely. I’m not going to go into the land of spoilers but the ending was strangely satisfying. And, that’s all I can say about that.

I don’t have any criticisms. Yes, this is a book that requires your attention and frankly it deserves it.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 of 5 sparkly stars