The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox: A Novel
From the New York Times best-selling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait comes a gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the freedom brought by truth.
"I found this actually unputdownable . . . Reminiscent of classic writers like Rebecca West and Daphne du Maurier."--Ali Smith, author of Autumn
In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend's attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital--where she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years.
Iris's grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But Esme's papers prove she is Kitty's sister, and Iris can see the shadow of her dead father in Esme's face.
Esme has been labeled harmless--sane enough to coexist with the rest of the world. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member never mentioned by the family, and one who is sure to bring life-altering secrets with her when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?
"Think Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Charlotte Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' or Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea . . . It's a breathtaking, heart-breaking creation."--The Washington Post Book World
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Community Reviews
Maggie O'Farrell tells both of those stories here. In bits and pieces we learn of Esme's childhood in India and her life as a young woman when she and her family move back to Scotland. We learn what led up to her institutionalization, and we learn some of what happened to her while she was there. But more important we learn that she stayed in the institution for more than 60 years, that her sister never let on that she was there, so that when the institution was to close, her mere existence was a great shock to her only relative.
I had a bit of a hard time getting into this story, since the writing is a little stilted at first, but soon the story itself drew me in. What actually happened that got Esme committed? Will Iris take her in? What role did Esme's older sister Kitty have in her commitment? And what is the biggest secret of all (because you know there is one)? O'Farrell answers all these questions expertly.
OH.
MY.
LORD.
This was spectacular.
I went into this blindly with nothing to guide me other than skimming the back cover. It doesn't do it justice. I don't know what would do it justice without giving something away. It was absolutely devastating to begin with but a million times more devastating as a woman. This was gorgeous and heartbreaking and just perfect top to bottom.
We are all, Esme decides, just vessels through which identities pass: we are lent features, gestures, habits, then we hand them on. Nothing is our own. We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents.
5 Stars
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