Edward and Helen are middle-aged siblings, still living at home; their narrow and uneventful lives dominated by their selfish and demanding mother. The book opens with her death, proceeds to what happens next to the brother and sister and how they react to their new freedom and her absence. They evoke equally pity, sympathy and exasperation, but the tale is told with sensitivity and compassion and has a clear sense of place and characterisation.
(Sue Pratt - bwl 71 Winter 2014 ) |
