Helpful Score: 2
I was very happy to receive an ARC of this book since I had just finished reading OFarrells first book. The mood of this book starts out dreamy and slow and almost made me feel drugged and slow as I met the two couples, one in the past and one in the future. I knew that they are somehow connected but had no idea how. The book slowly drew me in and started moving faster until the action was at breakneck speed. And at the end, I immediately wanted to start again to find all the hints that I missed, all the connections that were so skillfully hidden. Maggie OFarrell once again has merged past and present with her uncommon skills of pacing and movement.
Helpful Score: 2
I received an ARC of this book from bookbrowse.com's First Impressions program. Thanks, bookbrowse!
Irish author Maggie O'Farrell writes stories about love in all its permutations, and I am a big fan.
As in her previous novels, this one takes a little time to get into the story and then, suddenly, it becomes a page turner. Told in alternating voices, decades apart, it is the story of two women and the men in their lives. Their stories are connected, but we don't immediately know how.
There is much to like and discuss in this wonderful exploration of love, motherhood and loss. Would recommend for book clubs.
Irish author Maggie O'Farrell writes stories about love in all its permutations, and I am a big fan.
As in her previous novels, this one takes a little time to get into the story and then, suddenly, it becomes a page turner. Told in alternating voices, decades apart, it is the story of two women and the men in their lives. Their stories are connected, but we don't immediately know how.
There is much to like and discuss in this wonderful exploration of love, motherhood and loss. Would recommend for book clubs.
Helpful Score: 1
The Hand That First Held Mine alternates between two stories, both set in London, one current, the other beginning in the mid-1950s. In modern London, an unwed couple is struggling with the rather traumatic birth of their first child and the adjustment to parenthood. In the earlier story, a young woman leaves her conservative family behind to make her own way in the big city. The characters (especially in the earlier story) are complex and believable. I wanted them to be happy, even though foreshadowing made it clear that wasn't going to happen, or to last at least.
I knew the stories were somehow connected, but wasn't entirely sure how until about 3/4 of the way through the novel. The reveal is not exactly subtle. If you don't get it, you're not paying attention at all. The last quarter then is spent watching the details fall into place and both stories reach their climax.
I knew the stories were somehow connected, but wasn't entirely sure how until about 3/4 of the way through the novel. The reveal is not exactly subtle. If you don't get it, you're not paying attention at all. The last quarter then is spent watching the details fall into place and both stories reach their climax.
