really well done. very skillfully written. entertaining along the way but the big picture is the coming of age of a young woman. highly recommended.
Very quirky novel and sometimes quite confusing. It's the story of Isobel Fairfax, a young girl in England who along with her brother Charles, loses her mother at a very early age. But what really happened to her mother? Did she really just leave or did something more sinister happen to her? Isobel also appears to have an ability to slip into different time periods including to Elizabethan times when Shakespeare was a sometimes visitor to the manor house that was once where Isobel's house is located. Although the novel has this mystical element, it's mostly a coming-of-age-story taking place in 1960. It's also the story of her very dysfunctional family living in the suburbs who have many secrets and lies regarding the family history including what happened to Isobel's mother. The novel takes us on a journey through Isobel's childhood, journeys to the past and future, and includes some alternate realities which made me wonder what was real and what was imagined.
This was the first novel I have read by Atkinson and overall, I would recommend it and will probably be reading more by her.
This was the first novel I have read by Atkinson and overall, I would recommend it and will probably be reading more by her.
