I don’t always follow through when someone recommends a book to me, for the same reason that I don’t belong to a book group (much as I love talking about books); I don’t want to be told what to read. However, sometimes I do listen and read a book that has excited another reader. I’m glad I did in this case. What a lovely read!
This story is set in Greenwich, well, I liked that to start with. It involves big themes: mothers and daughters; family and friendships; age and the passing of time; community. A story that involves all those should offer plenty to keep the reader turning the pages.
Sally lives alone in a Georgian house that she really can’t afford to maintain. She is a big part of her local community, particularly the library. Sally is sadly estranged from her daughter and granddaughter (who are in Australia) as there are serious misunderstandings that have remained unresolved for many years and are now entrenched, damaging their fragile relationship. A fall and several broken bones means that Ella travels from Australia to help her mother and, gradually, problems and difficulties begin to unravel, alongside it becoming obvious that Sally is also becoming more than normally forgetful.
So, a great story, well constructed with good characterisation but there is more. Kate Storey weaves books through her plot. They are given a meaningful place and a significance to a character and a particular point within the narrative. It is clever and unusual. Over the years of her daughter’s lifetime, Sally has bought a book for Ella each birthday, which she chose because she felt it was appropriate for her age and more importantly had a message to impart, a lesson to be learnt. She wrote some personal words inside the cover. It is a lovely idea but Ella did not realise this thoughtful library existed until she returned to London under duress. A pity that by then most of them had been destroyed by water from an overflowing bath.
When I was about two thirds of the way through the book, I realised there was probably a choice of two scenarios for the ending but I enjoyed reading on to find which way the author would go.
I would have liked a list at the back of the book of all the stories that she had mentioned. They ranged widely from Little Women, to Persuasion, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Alchemist, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby and A Room of One’s Own. The last is of course by Virginia Woolf. I had an unfortunate experience with her at college where I had to study To The Lighthouse. I didn’t get on with it at all, finding it heavy, obtuse and really I remember, dull. Unsurprisingly I have not read her since those student times. However, The Memory Library has led me back and persuaded me to explore Virginia Woolf again. Her books are published by Vintage Classics with colourful, abstract covers. An appealing cover is always a good start. I am optimistic that I will enjoy the experience this time round and several decades later.
So, a book that surprised me and was immensely richer than I first thought it would be. There is a degree of pleasing originality here and much to recommend.