In her first novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Joanna Cannon alternated a ten year old narrator with third person chapters. In her new book Three Things About Elsie our narrator Florence is eighty four, again switching to third person chapters, this time for two other characters. This works really well, especially as Florence is struggling with her memory. The author writes lovingly about ageing, the residents and staff of Cherry Tree are all sympathetically described. We get to know them so well.
There is a mystery at the heart of the story, one that Florence is trying to unravel in her inconsistent mind. The Elsie of the title is her best friend, a calming influence in her often troubled recollections of the past. At their retirement home arrives a man from the past. "For someone so full of violence, his voice was almost soft and whispery". Florence needs to do something. She might have read what Grace did (in that first book) and her advanced years was not going to stop her.
No comments:
Post a Comment