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One winter's afternoon on Hampstead Heath in 1980, Elise Morceau meets Constance Holden and quickly falls under her spell. Connie is bold and alluring, a successful writer whose novel is being turned into a major Hollywood film. Elise follows Connie to LA, a city of strange dreams and swimming pools and late-night gatherings of glamorous people. But whilst Connie thrives on the heat and electricity of this new world where everyone is reaching for the stars and no one is telling the truth, Elise finds herself floundering. When she overhears a conversation at a party that turns everything on its head, Elise makes an impulsive decision that will change her life forever. Three decades later, Rose Simmons is seeking answers about her mother, who disappeared when she was a baby. Having learned that the last person to see her was Constance Holden, a reclusive novelist who withdrew from public life at the peak of her fame, Rose is drawn to the door of Connie's imposing house in search of a confession.… (more)
User reviews
This book was beautifully written, but slow, so slow. So slow in fact, that most of my book group gave it 3 or 3.5 stars, which was very disappointing after Jessie Burton's previous two books.
I enjoyed this in the end and was glad that I finished it, but I missed the magical realism
There was a further element that normally would have put me off reading; the relationship between Constance Holden and Elise Morceau. I generally shy away from lesbian books but this was fairly subtle and I managed to stick with it.
Again, this was written in a dual time frame. The modern characters are set in 2017, with Rose Simmons already in her thirties, but directionless and stuck in a stale relationship. She was raised by her father after her mother abandoned her a baby. Her father has told her very little about her mother and Rose is haunted by questions.
In 1980s London, Constance Holden and Elise Morceau meet when Elise's date fails to show. The relationship between the young Elise and older Constance is very much lead by Constance, who's book is being turned into a movie in Los Angles. Elise travels with her to America, but all is not glittering and perfect.
And so, with the scene set, we gradually follow Rose in her search for her mother, alongside the story of Constance and Elise in the bright lights and movie life of LA. Will Rose get the answers she so longs for?
The characters were well drawn and I felt as if I knew them well by the end. The denouement is also realistic. There were a few dodgy coincidences during the narrative that were less convincing and I would have enjoyed a bit more interest to move the story along a bit faster. All in all, I still think The Miniaturist is hard to beat.
A quick mention for the narrator, Hayley Atwell, who did a brilliant job and I'd give her 5 stars for her contribution.
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Red sprayed page edges and decorative endpapers.