Kate Flynn, who has never married but
has had a few relationships, returns to Cardiff to take a break from life in
London and to care for her elderly and elegant mother. This is another story, like so many I have
read recently, where the house in which the characters dwell becomes another
presence or character in the story. The house,
called Firenze, sounds magnificent although at the time that Kate returns, it
is in some disrepair.
On her return, Kate runs into David,
the younger brother of her good friend from childhood, Carol. Kate begins to spend time with David,
especially attending musical events, as his wife, Suzie, does not enjoy
music. Suzie is David’s second wife and
the mother of two young children. They also share their home with Jamie, David’s
seventeen-year-old son from his first marriage.
Kate and her mother, Billie, are very interesting
women and both cast a spell on David early on in the book and later Jamie
becomes enchanted with them. Kate also
becomes acquainted with Jamie and their relationship, and her relationship with
David, are intertwined without really intersecting.
I enjoyed this book. The dialogue is snappy, the characters are volatile
and have depth. Also by Tessa Hadley and
also good: The London Train.
No comments:
Post a Comment