A lovely and literary exploration of a family that’s still grieving, 12 years after the death of daughter Alice.
Now her younger brother is getting married to her old frenemy, after hiding their relationship from both sets of parents. Gathering everyone in the same place again brings conflict and memories to the surface. Benji’s parents have split up and found new partners since the loss of his sister. Morgan barely speaks to hers. All they can be sure of is the affection they have for one another.
There are multiple viewpoint characters, as we spend time with parents and grown children alike. We cross multiple points of time in the telling, too. Much of the book is preoccupied by Alice’s funeral, for example (occasionally slowing down the plot, a little too my frustration), and certainly just as much at the wedding. But we see glimpses of other moments too – time Alice spends with Morgen, her brother, or with the lecturer who’s now dating her mother.
I found myself caring about all of these characters almost immediately, despite their myriad flaws, and that was enough to pull me through the book, eager to find out more, despite it not being really in any way at all a page-turner. Yes, it’s told in a very literary style and I did have to look up a few words now and then – but it worked for me in this story. I was carried away, past and present, keen to see their developing future.
This is the author’s debut, and I’d like to come back to see what she does with her second book.
Share with your Friends: