I sometimes feel my reasons for liking or not liking a book are rather shallow- basically if I am drawn into the world of the book so that the characters become real people in my mind then it is a winner. Perhaps that's not a totally lame criterion, after all badly drawn, unbelievable characters, bad writing, unconvincing narrative all get in the way of that happening.
The fiction book that has stayed with me so far this year is Annabel which I didn't even write about here because I just wanted to say 'read it-NOW'. However, unexpectedly this novel looks set to be another that stays with me in the same way. I keep wanting to know what happens next to the characters as if they are real people.
I came to it with no expectations, a first novel which I hadn't read any reviews of. I think it's exciting that the judges have spread their net so widely and I'm certainly delighted that it led me to this novel.
I can't say too much about the plot without spoiling it. In some ways it reminds me of one of my favourite films- Festen. The film looks at a celebration in a deeply dysfunctional family where the dark truths at the heart of the family are finally spoken about, and by the end of the film you feel the characters do have the possibility of moving on with new hope. I always thought that the epigraph for the film should be ' You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.'
The same applies to this book. From the very first page, I had only meant to pick it up quickly to get an idea of it, I was sucked into the world of the novel and the mind of Jinx, the main character. For fourteen years she has carried a burden of guilt and grief in ways that have prevented her from moving on and truly living the life she has now. The return of Lemon, the man she has hoped will accept her despite her guilt, forces her to revisit the months leading up to and the night of the brutal murder of her mother.
We see inside the head of the 16 year old Jinx as she revisits that time and understand the tangled teenage emotions that led her to act as she did. At the same time, as Lemon weaves the story from his point of view we see another perspective, and with Jinx discover that guilt, grief and forgiveness are not as straightforward as she thought.
To give you a taste of the book, here's a little observation from page 51 which caught my eye:
' he put down his glass and ran his palms over his trousers as though trying to smooth out any creases. I had seen people do this in the undertakers, occupying their hands as if doing so straightened out the thoughts in their minds and made it possible for them to say things they could not otherwise say.'
If all the books on the longlist are as good as this I'm in for a treat in the next few weeks. Already I'm hoping this one will make the shortlist, will reading the other 12 change my mind?
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