A Love Triangle and a Twist or Two
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This is the book’s opening:
“The farmer is dead, he is dead and all anyone wants to know is who killed him. Was it an accident or was it murder? It looks like murder, they say, with that gunshot wound to the heart, so precise it must have been intended.
“They are waiting for me to speak. Two pairs of eyes relentless in their stares. But how can I tell them what he wants me to say, the words we have practiced over and over in the minutes before the police arrive.”
In this manner, the author grabs us by the collar and pulls us into her story. We get further pulled along by her use of short chapters. Those chapters alternate between the present (1968) and “Before” (1955) and are set in Hemston, North Dorset.
The chapters are narrated by Beth Johnson, the one who is worried about performing her practiced lines.
There are five main sections to the book. They appear in this order and with this connection to Beth:
- Gabriel Wolfe – an upper-class teenage boy who lives at Meadowlands, the big house in Hemston, who has a torrid teenage relationship with Beth before he goes off to become a famous author.
- Bobby Johnson – Beth’s son
- Jimmy Johnson – Beth’s brother-in-law
- Frank Johnson – Beth’s husband – It should be noted that Jimmy and Frank and their dad, David, all work the family farm.
- The final section is an epilogue of sorts and takes us to 1975.
When the book opens in the first 1968 chapter, we learn that Gabriel Wolfe is back in town. He is divorced and he is living with his young son, Leo, at Meadowlands.
The author has us all set up for a love triangle and for a while that’s all I thought she had up her sleeve. I felt a bit annoyed for being dragged so forcefully into not-much-of-a-storyline. But with a twist here and a turn there, this becomes a very interesting book indeed.
I don’t want to ruin anything, so I will say no more – except that I recommend this book.
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