There are a number of elements of this book that are unsettling to the reader. The novel then follows them working out the details of their lives the impact this death has on them and the help they need from others around them. At the start of the novel, they don’t even have electricity and they have the impossible task of notifying and registering the death of their mother without a phone or transport during heavy snowfall. The twins are poorly educated, having skipped a lot of school they don’t have a bank account. It’s the only life they’ve known so when their mother suddenly dies from a stroke, the shelter she had created for them is broken and family secrets begin to be exposed. Jeanie and Julius are 51-year-old twins who have lived their whole lives at home with their mother isolated on the edge of society in a run-down cottage, with no fixed income and being mostly self-sufficient from growing vegetables in the garden and looking after chickens. I thought it was probably about the money, which, sadly, is the issue with lots of indie press books.An unsettling read The Costa Novel of the Year for 2021 takes the reader to the outskirts of society, exposing deep-set family secrets and the kindness of strangers. Some of us are a bit more generous, some of us are very generous. That is not a slight, Paul, I just see that you ask a lot from a novel, which considering the number of books published every year, being discerning is a good thing. Paul is not as generous a reader so that doesn’t surprise me. I just read and enjoyed The Spoon Stealer which I only gave 2 stars!
Not every good book is award worthy and I don’t need every book I read to be exceptional, award winning books. I didn’t see that in UG, I enjoyed it, I read it in one sitting, but I can’t see why it was nominated for an award. As I just said, in my 9 month later review, one of the women in Sound Mirror has stayed with me all these months. The writing was as good as any award nominated book, the pace was right for the story lines and what set it apart for me is that, like all of my favorite novels, the author has insight into what makes us tick, what brings us joy, what haunts us, motivates us, cripples us. The characters in The Sound Mirror were fully developed and consistent throughout, none were all good or all bad. Peg and Neil surprise me then, although Sound Mirror is not a Goldsmith style book it’s not experimental.
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