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.
