I was halfway through this book before I set off for my hols and managed to forget to take it with me. Then it had to wait until I had finished the Roth trilogy. I picked it up again yesterday and read the whole thing in one go as I had to know what happened.
This is the third of Adele's novels that I have read, and my favourite so far. Like the other two (A Hidden Life and Made in Heaven) it is the story of a large, multi-generational family. Like the others also, it deals with secrets -- in this case, two very momentous ones. What I liked particularly here was the way in which the novel showed, clearly but subtly, the effect of keeping, or suppressing, those secrets. Also impressive was the structure of the narrative, which moved backwards and forwards through time, as the characters recalled, or contemplated, or faced up to, events which had structured their own present experience.
Central to the novel's plot is the matriarch of the family, Leonora. As the story begins, her large family -- two daughters, numerous grandchildren -- are converging on Willow Court, her lovely country house, to celebrate her 75th birthday. At the best of times such an event, involving large numbers of guests, caterers, marquees and flower arrangements, would bring its share of tensions and anxieties. But this is all exacerbated by a number of stress-inducing extra pressures. For one thing, a television company is arriving to make a documentary -- for Leonora's house holds a precious collection of paintings by her celebrated father, Ethan Walsh. Indeed, this is another cause of tension, as Leonora's grandson, the attractive but increasingly untrustworthy-seeming Efe, is attempting to persuade his grandmother to allow an American millionaire to open a gallery where the paintings will be more accessible to the public. Leonora is deeply opposed to this idea, largely because she promised her adored father that the paintings would never leave Willow Court.
Although everyone in the family loves the house, with its glorious gardens and lake, Leonora's younger daughter Rilla, a flamboyant and warm-hearted actress, has decidedly mixed feelings about spending time there. Many years earlier her adored five-year-old son Mark drowned in the lake while Rilla was out shopping in the village, and she has never ceased to blame herself for not being there, even though he was left in the care of his aunt and grandmother and various cousins. Though she has been separated for many years from Mark's father, and never been short of admirers and lovers, Rilla has never felt able to commit herself to anyone, though she has been a wonderful mother and friend to her step-daughter Beth, who she has brought up on her own. Beth, meanwhile, has been secretly in love with Efe for as long as she can remember, notwithstanding the fact that he is now married to the beautiful, rather empty-headed Fiona, and has a small son of his own. But Efe's marriage turns out to have secrets too, and not very attractive ones at that. As for Leonora's memories of her own childhood, and Rilla's of the events surrounding Mark's death, both of these prove to have hidden dimensions which, when they are brought to the surface, completely transform the lives not only of these two women but of everyone connected with them.
I think what I admire most about these novels, apart from the fact that they tell a cracking story, is the way Adele Geras manages to touch on some really profound and difficult issues without ever being heavy-handed or depressing. The effect of keeping memories suppressed and finally of facing up to them and their implications is obviously a primary theme, but the book also looks at male violence against women, and the way it seems to descend through families. In other hands, this could make for a very different kind of novel, but here, despite the fact that a few characters are probably not going to have ideally happy futures, the overall effect at the end is warm, comforting and positive. Quite an achievement, and a really enjoyable read.
