Lead Review
- Book: In Her Wake
- Location: Cornwall
- Author: Amanda Jennings
“A perfect life…. until she discovered it wasn’t her own”
In Her Wake has had widespread critical acclaim, and deservedly so. It is well written and thoughtfully constructed.
Bella has “A perfect life” according to the description on the back cover. But the story has hardly begun and it is evident that cracks in her current and past life are profound. Married to David, a stultifying husband who essentially likes to control, she has learned to be biddable. The couple arrives at her parents’ house – the gloomy Old Vicarage – as her Mother has just passed away. But soon Bella does not only have the death of her mother to contend with! As the story unfolds she is presented with new and shocking information about her very core.
Looking back on her relationship with her parents, Bella’s nature to mollify and acquiesce was set very early on. Her mother was anxiously attached to her, having miscarried multiple times. The cloying environment that her mother created, her focus on keeping Bella safe and confined at home, has certainly taken its toll.
Once Bella makes her startling discovery, she finds herself compelled to take off for St Ives and look up the members of a family based down there. She does this at the drop of a hat, and, totally out of character, leaves David behind.
Away from him, she has a chance to emotionally breathe and adjust to her new knowledge, and take time to find out who she really is… on more levels than one.
She makes contact with the new family, and although she encounters hostility at first, she soon has a firm foot through the door, she propels herself into this very fragile family set-up, totally focussed on her own needs. At this point I felt torn between my empathy for her in her new found circumstances, and Dawn in her humble family home. Dawn just doesn’t have the sustained wherewithal to withstand Bella’s determination. Psychologically speaking this is probably not surprising – having been controlled all her life, her unconscious drive, in turn, might be to control those around her.
The author tackles so many issues and cleverly manages to dovetail them in a credible, informed and very readable way. A mature woman discovering who she really is, on so many levels, a hackneyed theme, but there is sufficient psychological depth that the reader can root for her, despite her gauche and controlling sorties into a world that is very new to her.
A gripping and enthralling read.
This review first appeared on our blog where we also chat to the author about writing, locale, and more….
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