Here, Mary Lawson is at her best. I loved reading this novel, because it seemed effortless, and yet so many complex issues were dealt with in the relationships of the Cartwright family.
A reclusive father, unable to cope with the unraveling of his wife's mind, sits in his study and dreams of parts unknown while ignoring the running of the household. Tom, 24, returns home after a stint as an aeronautical engineer, because of the suicide of his best friend. Margot keeps all the wheels in motion, as her mum is upstairs, in the bedroom, with the latest baby. Absorbed and absolved of all duties, she has one baby after another as she cannot cope with the kids once they are not babies.
And yet, there seems to be a shadow looming...Margot starts to question her mother's sanity.
There are countless children, boys of all sizes, making a lot of noise. Margot must escape if she is to live her own life.
Margot escapes to London, settles there and yet is drawn back to Canada because of the baby brother she reared. The family is never far from her mind. But the sense that she will be trapped into duty keeps her away for a long time.
Woven in these lives are so many threads and the beautifully drawn characters keep us engaged and wondering about them once the book ends.
Loved it.
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