“My mother, of course, was never boring. At the house in Lucas Street she took a hammer to the wall in the middle of the night.”
The Blurb
Amy hasn’t spoken to her mother for seventeen years, but a sense of duty brings her to the hospital when she’s told that her mother is unconscious and dying. As she sits, solitary, at the bedside, she tells the story of her turbulent childhood, dragged along in the wake of her volatile, destructive mother.
After an acrimonious divorce, Amy’s mother rushes through a succession of unreliable boyfriends and plunges herself and her young daughter into a series of temporary homes, including a dangerous hostel, a flimsy caravan, an artists’ commune with no electricity and bird droppings in the hearth, and a rented house that she smashes and burns to the ground. When stability at last comes into their lives, Amy’s mother seems determined to destroy it, leading to a final, devastating betrayal.
This is the story of a vicious love-hate relationship, a bond that can never really be broken, and a life spent seeking a home.
My Review
This is a powerful book which has been beautifully written and fully deserves the five stars I have given it.
It is a short book at only 176 pages, but each one of those has been superbly executed. Each word has been crafted and placed with care, and the result is this absolute gem of a book.
It tells the story of Amy, who has received a call informing her that her mother, the titular Amelia Nash, has had a stroke and is dying. They have been estranged for many years, but as Amy sits by her hospital bedside, she mentally revisits the toxic relationship they have shared, from childhood to the present day.
It is a tale of a complex relationship but was told with humanity and sensitivity. The book deals with some difficult themes, but the author treats her characters with compassion. It is brutal but honest, and makes for excellent reading.
At some point in our lives, many of us will sit at the bedside of a dying parent, and this book will resonate with many readers. However, this book never felt depressing because it was obvious from the outset that Amy would find her own way in life.
Sarah Healey is an author I have never read before. Based on the quality of this book, I will definitely be reading some of her back catalogue and looking forward to what she might bring us in the future.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1915975164
Publisher: Portland Press
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 176 (paperback)
Purchase Links
About the Author
Having worked for ten years as a criminal defence lawyer in busy courts and police stations, Sarah Healey settled down in the far reaches of West Cornwall to live a quiet life, writing and editing books.
She is the author of five novels, Red Blue Green, Having Fun, The Day of the Trial, The Night Watch and A Week in the Life of Amelia Nash.
You can also find Sarah at:
(book and media courtesy of the author)
(all opinions are my own)
(Bookshop.org affiliated)
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