A horrific tragedy permeates the whole of this story; it even somehow effects the lives of the main characters prior to the event. Harry and his estranged daughter Sophie take turns in telling their version in alternating short chapters. This works fine. Sophie, in particular, suffers from what we gather is second hand ptsd, but is she using this an excuse? Time will tell.
Late on there is one chapter from Joe, Sophie's husband. This is definitely worth waiting for, like a brilliant short story in itself. In it he describes an event from his youth, when his scout troop put on a Christmas party. He had to go out the front and speak a monologue with corny jokes written by the scout-master. Instead of being the disaster he imagined, the audience actually laugh and Joe is in his element. I include this because I had a similar experience. Playing Major Petcoff in the school play "Arms and the Man", I hadn't realised until the first night that my big speech was so funny. It is extraordinary when you get such a reaction from the audience.
Back to the novel. Thank goodness that Sophie's last chapter has some hope for the future. Just a shame this was let down by Harry's final meditation on the past.
I loved the first two thirds of this book, and if the author had then tied things up quickly, it would have been great. Instead we get an awkward and clunky last third which, for obvious reasons of spoilers, I cannot describe. To begin with, our investment spending time with various characters begins to pay off. There is wit and some great dialogue. At a funeral, Anna's maiden aunt Brianne (I wanted more of this character) had "filched (some napkins) from a bar called "The Dizzy Swain" and "each napkin was emblazoned by a cartoon shepherd". But then there are so many things wrong with the last part of the novel. If only Egan's editor had been able to convince her to see those problems that spoilt what would have been such a great story.
She may tell people she is fine, but the truth is very different. Eleanor is one of the most complicated characters I have read for many years. She is bright and highly educated but without any social skills, all due to her past. She has little time for other people but would be horrified if she knew what they thought of her. She mentions "Jane Eyre; strange child, difficult to love". She doesn't know that could be a description of herself.
There are shattering glimpses of what happened to her as a child, a back story that is brilliantly constructed and revealed only in bits and pieces. The author has the most wonderful turn of phrase, some of the dialogue is extremely funny. There are times, after I had put the book down, that I would again burst into laughter. Maybe there is too much advertising for Glen's Vodka (Scottish of course), Tesco and Magners. So the book is not perfect. How can a small modern house have space for "several cars on the drive". And there is a "stuff the reader" twist at the end. But it didn't spoil what is a hugely emotional story. Everyone should read this book, basically because it is so good. I read late into the night, something I haven't done for ages.
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