THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE by LISA JEWELL

THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE

BY LISA JEWELL

THE BLURB:-

When she was nine years old, Melody Browne's house burned down, taking every toy, every photograph, every old Christmas card with it. But not only did the fire destroy all her possessions, it took with it all her memories- Melody can remember nothing before her ninth birthday.

Now in her early thirties, Melody lives in a small flat in London with her teenage son. She hasn't seen her parents since she left home at fifteen, but Melody doesn't mind. She's made a good life for herself and her son and likes it that way.

Until something extraordinary happens. Whilst attending a hypnotist show with her first date in years she faints- and when she comes round she starts to remember. At first her memories mean nothing to her but then slowly, day by day, she begins to piece together the story of her childhood. Her journey takes her to the seaside town of Broadstairs, to oddly familiar houses in London backstreets, and meetings with strangers who love her like their own. But with every mystery she solves another one materialises, with every question she asks another appears. And Melody begins to wonder if she'll ever know the truth about her past...

THE REALITY:-

Damn blasted continuity- I know I'm a stickler for these things but when a chapter is entitled 1989 and it's about Melody being thrown out of her home for being pregnant- with a son who was born in 1988, it gets on my bloody nerves. It also makes self-published moi breathe a small sigh of relief. I haven't had the luxury of a professional copy editor (content editors can keep their greasy paws off) and always manage to find a small error in my first novel every time I pick it up. Ah well, such is life.

This isn't the first Lisa Jewell book I've read and this one was every bit as inviting as the last. The author has a real eye for the detail of taking a reader back to a certain time in recent history, through fashions, attitudes and influences. I loved the notion of a single mother living in a council flat in Covent Garden. I know these places exist, I have come across them whilst traversing central London and think that's so cool! And lucky! Talk about getting a good deal out of a tricky (baby at fifteen) situation. I've never visited Broadstairs but would certainly like to, if only to visit the Charles Dickens' House. I've stayed in Margate, up the coast, but didn't have time to see Broadstairs. Next time I take the high-speed link to Kent I'll make sure I see Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

The concept of a little girl's memory being totally wiped is a strange one. Is it even possible? I suppose it must be, otherwise authors wouldn't have the reality back-up to be able to write a convincing story. It's something I've come across before, with other novelists. I loved the way Melody's memory came back piece by piece, like a camera aperture slowly coming into complete focus. Her life in a commune made for good reading with some very lively characters, from kind Ken with his idealism, Grace and her liberalism and little Matty with his dissection of animals (he turns into big Matthew, a drunk.) This book contains very good descriptions of these people, her London father and Melody's sad mother, Jane. I shan't spoil it by telling you what happened to her and how such rotten luck led to her destruction but read it yourself and see just how bad luck heaped on top of more bad luck can shape a person and cause a domino-like affect on their shattered world.

This story, thankfully has a happy ending, as Melody meets up with her little, adoring, sister and finds out what happened to the rest of her family. She also makes peace with adoptive mother Gloria and moves on with her second chance at life, in her new relationship. A fantastic, un-putdownable read from start to finish. You won't be disappointed with this one.