Wirral Libraries Bookbuzz discussion

The May 2020 book for the Bebington Central Book Group. This book appears to have been written when Margaret Forster was terminally ill with cancer.

I read the book in a day but have spent a little time thinking what I thought of it. I found the book easy to read and was interested in how the tale of the characters lives would evolve. I'm pretty sure that the selection of Workington as the location for Sarah/ Tara's new life wasn't essential to the story. The Workington and environs location was interesting but not critical to the tale.

Whilst the book doesn't reach a conclusion I do think it explores issues around our mental health/ personality which are an issue for many people. Both Sarah/ Tara and Nancy are not self confidant rounded individuals. Nancy appears to have had some life experiences which have closed her off from human contact - and arguably this has led her in an inadvertently self destructive way towards loneliness.

Sarah/ Tara came across to me as an individual who could be characterised as not having grown up and so does things on impulse which cause her difficulties later. Rescuing the child as a teenager obviously had a beneficial impact but moving to Workington on a whim didn't look well thought through and so was always likely to break down. The abusively controlling nature of her husband wasn't thoroughly explored - Tara ended up in prison as a result but we don't really understand her thoughts about that stage in her life.

I found the use of the characters voices - their internal conversations - both convincing and interesting. In these lockdown times I'm sure we all feel a little like these charcaters. I think this was a good way of exploring the character of Nancy and Tara's personality weaknesses.

I don't know whether the process described of getting a new name was realistic but we did have a theme common to many books - the lead character had financial resources which made her able to buy her way out of some troubles.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others as a light read with some potential for reflection.