Tuesday, 18 March 2008
After You’d Gone
Rating 5/5
This is a stunning novel; a beautiful story of love and loss. O’Farrel’s writing is wonderful, I really felt like I was inside the heads of the characters experiencing their lives with them. The last few chapters are painful to read but worth it for the emotional journey, her descriptions of grief were heartbreaking.
The book is arranged like a jigsaw puzzle. It flits back and forth between different times, different characters and different voices and the stories and histories are gradually revealed.
The only part that jarred was the end. It is a similar end to the other O’Farrel book I read “The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox”. While Esme’s story had a kind of closure in “After You’d Gone” I felt the end was too clouded.
It’s a wonderful read though and I highly recommend it.
I read this book last year, and like you loved it – but I thought the book ended too soon. I wanted to know how she and the father would have a relationship now, and how fitting that he is the one that pulls her out (I don’t want to give any spoilers away) – I cried through alot of the last third of the book!
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Susan – Yes I really wanted to know that too. I find reviews so hard to write there was lots more I wanted to say but I didn’t want to give things away!
I cried too.
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