“When I was living in California in the late seventies, four women left their husbands and children in my friend’s small, cul de sac neighborhood to remake themselves, return to school, or strike out on their own. Veitch's debut novel is a compelling tale of a family torn asunder by abandonment. On Christmas eve 1967, Rosemarie McDonald, a young wife and mother, walks out of her family's home near Melbourne, Australia, and never returns. Over the next 40 years, her four children maintain close relationships with one another, establishing their own families and now helping to care for their aging father, whose grasp on reality is slipping. We meet the oldest, Deborah, authoritative and controlling; charming, artistic, and charismatic James; obsessive-compulsive Robert, always responsible; and the youngest, Meredith, flighty and fearful, all plagued by their mother's abandonment. Then James, in London on business, crosses paths with Rosemarie. The balance of the novel focuses on just how and when he will reintroduce his mother to his siblings. Veitch has written a powerful and engrossing story of family interactions complete with family members' frailties and strengths. Chockablock with rich, idiomatic Australian slang, this novel includes a glossary. If you like Anita Shreve and Anne Tyler, help yourself to this gripping story by Veitch.
Compiled from various reviews by K. Craver 10/2009”
NCSLibrary wrote this review Thursday, October 8 2009.
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