It's 22nd August 1984 and Bessie's sixteenth birthday, she wakes with great hope for the future because it's also results day for school exams, she's hoping she's done well because her dream is to become an air hostess. Later that day her world comes crashing down around her and Bessie is left full of shame and carrying a secret she can never share.
It's 22nd August 2021 and Bess is now fifty three, she is married to Mario and they have two children, Jake and Natalie but their relationship is failing. Jake has recently got married and watching him settling into married life, Bess knows, in order to save her own marriage, she must finally face the demons she's been hiding from for the last thirty seven years and reveal to her husband the secret that changed her world in 1984.
The story begins in 1984, with Bessie and her brother Philip on a train, their destination isn't revealed until much later in the book. We are then led on a journey which alternates between 1984 and 2021, and centres around her birthday in both timelines. It's a tale of huge aspirations, broken dreams, love, loss, secrets, lies, trust and betrayal and once again, at the hands of this hugely talented author, it's been told beautifully, with compassion and integrity. The chapters are seamless, the switching between the two timelines is faultless and the characters are brought to life so exquisitely that if they stepped out of those pages they would be as real as you and me. I was completely invested in this story, as I am with all the books I've read by this author, but more so in this one because it's my era, I was 16 in 1984, full of hope for my future too, now 53 and married with two children, that's where the similarities between Bess and myself end, but I found myself reminiscing about those years as a teenager and wondering, if I could rewind to 1984, would I have done anything different, maybe I'd have chosen a different career path, but that's the only thing I'd change. This story shows that life is what you make it, we all have choices and those choices map out our journey through life and make us the people we are today. As always with this author, I highly recommend this book but you will need tissues, it's an emotional read that had me smiling and crying throughout.
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An absolute masterpiece of storytelling from the incomparable Mrs Prowse. Yet again she has tapped into a rich seam of human life, love, friendship and family and crafted it into the most moving and life affirming book. I wept for Bess, the central character and think every woman, of any age, will relate to her in some way. The dual time frames of the story, set when Bess was a naive, trusting sixteen year old and her middle aged self today, were so skillfully handled. It made me realise we all have the younger versions of ourselves living within us, still carrying the scars, pains, insecurities and loves of our teenage years. I don't want to spoil the story by revealing any spoilers but I can say the family dynamics and characters are a masterclass in creative writing. With a few deft strokes of her pen, Amanda has given life to a fully fleshed, loving and lovable family unit. The adorable parents, with their unconditional love and support, coupled with their quirky little foibles and rituals, leap from the page. We all know someone like them(in fact, I see a little bit of myself, rushing downstairs on the mornings of my children's birthdays so I could play the Happy birthday record on repeat, to greet them-not as original as the adorable Ed 's harmonica rendition but my ritual). Bess and Mario have reached a crisis point in their marriage and again, so many couples will empathise and take stock of their own relationships once their children have flown the nest. We all hold secrets and some can be more damaging than we realise. I am in awe of Amanda's unerring ability to give voice to so many different facets of human lives and interactions. I was left needing a sequel - the ending certainly gives ample scope for one and I think other readers will share my reluctance to say goodbye to these brilliant characters. Please Miss, may I have some more?
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