Tweet about this review | Subscribe to our RSS feed | 9 comments so far - join in the debate
Book Review | The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
Buy a copy of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox today
Rating
5 stars – this haunting novel is a real page turner
Description
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.
Why did you choose to read this book?
I’ve read O’Farrell’s previous novels and enjoyed two out of the three – so I wasn’t sure whether to read this one – however it was the only one that jumped out at me on a swap list so I thought I’d give it a try.
The Book Review
I picked up The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox expecting for it to last me a few days – and literally couldn’t put it down! There are no chapters – the voices of each of the characters intermingle across short sections – making it really easy to pick up and read for 5 minutes at a time – or longer periods. The story is not linear; it’s like a jigsaw puzzle, with the reader travelling back and forth between present day Scotland, India in the 1930s and Scotland in the 1930s, gradually putting together the pieces until the full picture is revealed in all its shocking glory in the final pages.
Without revealing too much information and spoiling the plot – this is a tale of Esme Lennox – a woman who has quite literally ‘vanished’. She was sectioned at the young age of 16 and purposely forgotten by her family. When the Hospital she has lived in for 61 years closes down the authorities contact her great-niece Iris who finds herself torn between letting the State find Esme somewhere else to live and understanding more about her great-aunt and the reason for her incarceration.
O’Farrell uses compelling prose and a fractured structure to draw the reader in and then reveal the clues which when pieced together reveal a shocking secret.
Make sure this is one of the books you read in 2008.
Have you reviewed this book?
If you have reviewed this book on your site please fill in the boxes below to link me up to your review – don’t forget to link to the specific post to make it easy to find:
Related articles by Zemanta
This page was found by other readers when searching for
- Maggie OFarrell (2)
- vainishing act esme review (2)
- esme lennox (1)
- the vanishing act if esme lennox (1)
- the vanishing act of esme lennox (1)
- the vanishing act of esme lennox maggie ofarrell plot (1)
- What did Iris want to say to Esme? (1)
- what happen in esme lennox (1)
Other books you may be interested in...
Book Review | Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Once again Montgomery has delivered a delightful novel that has stood the test of time
Book Review | The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
When Laurel Hawthorne is woken in the middle of the night to find a ghost in her bedroom and a girl drowned in her swimming pool her world is turned upside down.
Book Review | The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
This is a story about a time in history most of us would like to forget – but that we should be forced to remember – and the terrible things that can happen when people keep secrets from each other…
Never miss a review
Comments & Reader Reviews
9 Responses to “Book Review | The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell”Leave a Comment
Now it's time to have your say!Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Fill in the boxes below to share your review :)
p.s If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a free gravatar
Copyright © 2010
Sounds like a very intriguing premise, from what you’ve posted here. I’m going to add this to my list of books to check out.
Such an intriguing premise! Thanks for alerting me to this book. It got added on to the TBR list. I may never ever get to it because of the sheer length of the list, but it’s on there.
)
Jessicas last blog post..The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, by Kamilla Reid
I loved this book, like you I couldn’t put it down. I nearly didn’t buy it because from the title I thought it was going to be about magicians!
I couldn’t stop thinking about them after I put the book down I really wanted to know what happened to Esme, Iris and Alex.
Alixs last blog post..The Mediator – Reviewed
Very intriquing! I’ll be looking for it!
Linda Jacobss last blog post..Booking Through Thursday