A second book from a gifted author. Totally gripping.
Mother
Amazon.com link
My review -
‘How
much of what we believe is in fact lies we tell ourselves, and how much is
truth?’
Christopher
is a slightly socially awkward young man, eager to do well, who discovers at
the age of eighteen that he’s adopted. He wants to find his real mother, to
find a person who truly loves him, as he has never felt completely connected to
the people who brought him up. He builds his birth mother up in his mind into
an almost saintly figure, drifting away from his adoptive family. Once he
attends Leeds university he finds excuses not to go back to visit them in the
holidays.
This
book is unusual in that it’s told from Christopher’s point of view through the
words of another person. This person attempts to make it true, recreating his
life story from what he has said himself. I found it utterly gripping. It went
back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, covering the time when the Yorkshire
Ripper was at large, and showing clearly the fear of female students at the
time. The setting, the social history of the time and, of course, the
developing character of Christopher, made this a thoroughly good and rather
unusual read which I enjoyed hugely.
I
received an advance review copy from Netgalley.
