This is why middle-aged mothers like I was then go to watch movies like Lord of the Rings or King Alfred or Gladiator, full of noble stoical men who fight and get knocked down and then get up again, about men who are competent, who don’t run away or whine or hide, who keep their promises, whom you can trust. Mythical beasts, of course. [loc. 350]
When I bought this (in 2014) it was entitled Love Without Shadows. As a teenager I'd obsessively reread Finney's two novels about an Irish bard in Roman Britain, A Shadow of Gulls and The Crow Goddess: later, I'd enjoyed her 'Elizabethan noir' novels, Firedrake's Eye and the rest. I was intrigued by what she might do in a contemporary setting -- though, obviously, not intrigued enough to read this novel as soon as I'd bought it...
The setting is, I think, the early years of the 21st century, or possibly the late 1990s. There are mobile phones and VHS tapes and indoor smoking. So much smoking! Anna Clements lives in south Cornwall: she has a husband (successful author of historical fiction, when he's not in the throes of depression) and two teenaged sons, and works as a community nurse, caring for the terminally ill. In her spare time, she's a karate instructor. She's pretty much given up on there being more to life, untilhen a visitor shows up to see one of her terminal cases -- a big guy with a bike and a facial tattoo, whom Anna thinks of as Tattoo -- and Anna finds that there can be more to life after all.
Obviously it's not that simple or straightforward. Tattoo has something of an identity problem, and Anna, though she's tough and competent, does not always act in her own best interests. It turns out that while she's keeping secrets from her family, they're keeping secrets from her, and Tattoo (or whatever his name is) has a few things to sort out before he can be truly honest with Anna.
This wasn't the sweet rural romance I'd expected from the first few chapters: a great deal changes for Anna, and there are some pretty brutal moments. Anna is as self-sufficient as the heroes of the films she loves, and remarkably forthright: we get a lot of her opinions. The story was well-paced until the last 10%, when it all became a bit melodramatic, hectic and over the top. My eye also snagged on a few typos and names spelt differently from one page to the next. Made me want to visit Cornwall again!
Fulfils the Book with an Alternate Title prompt of the '52 books in 2022' challenge.
No comments:
Post a Comment