Eve Green (Paperback)

After the sudden death of her mother in Birmingham, eight-year-old Evangeline finds herself transported to her grandparents' tiny Welsh village of Cae Tresanit - with its quaint farmhouses, shady lanes, peat bogs, and dank old gold mines. Eve gradually becomes to love the natural beauty and farm life of old Wales. She's a brave, strong-willed, and flame-haired girl, who embarks upon a journey to discover where she really comes from. But as she gets older, she gradually becomes embroiled in her own mysterious family history and the inexplicable disappearance of Rosie a young village girl, who liked to wear short skirts and roller-skate through the village.

Finding an old shoebox with a collection of her mother's mementoes, Eve manages to piece together the story of her mother's affair with the man that became Eve's father. The only clue that Eve has to his identity is that his first name begins with K. Meanwhile, Eve befriends mad old hermit-like local boy Billy Macklin. Billy a mystical and forlorn figure has been physically and mentally scarred when a bucking horse disfigured his face. But it is through the enigmatic Billy, that Eve is able to discover the truth about her mother, the mysterious man called K, and why local village shopkeeper Mr. Phipps despises her so.

From the outset Eve is different from the other children in the village. She's often haughty and rebellious, and picks fights with the other schoolgirls. Eve's grandmother - who hides the truth about Eve's past - is frightened of losing her grip on her granddaughter, just like she did with Eve's mother. As Eve garners more misty-eyed secrets, she becomes more reliant on Billy, and realizes "if there is a little box of secrets she couldn't quite prize open, Billy is the one with the key." Billy knows all about love, and Eve sees the signs of a saddened heart - solitude, quietness, a lethargy that sat alongside a desire to protect all that reminded him of Eve's mother.

Author Susan Fletcher cleverly hints at various dramatic incidents that unfold throughout Eve's life. But it isn't until the last chapters that these incidents are pieced together and the reader finally gets a picture of what really happens to Eve and how these events are related. As the proceedings become clearer, they irrevocably change the village, forcing Eve to face the ghosts of the past and look towards the future. Eve "holds up the past to the wind, uncloses her hand and just let's it go."

Memory and love are a powerful force in Eve Green. And of love - it patters into you, or it washes you clean of your senses. It can drip or become a downpour. It is also strange and manipulative. There's no doubt that Eve Green is a beautiful novel, but the real treasure lies - not just in Eve's emotional journey of self-discovery - but also in the picture that Fletcher paints of rural farm life and the ordinary lives of the people of Cae Tresanit. Powerful, poetic and visionary, Eve Green is what serious literary fiction is all about. Mike Leonard February 04.

If you have read books such as The Lovely Bones, or The Time Travellers Wife and enjoyed them, I am sure that you will love this.

Twenty-nine year-old Eve Green narrates. Pregnant with her first child by the man she has adored for almost twenty years, she reflects back on an earlier, more innocent time.

Evangeline lived in Birmingham with her mother, a single parent, until she was suddenly, tragically orphaned at age seven - about to turn eight. Evie, as she was then called, was sent to live with her maternal grandparents on their farm in the Welsh countryside, just outside the tiny village of Cae Tresaint. Her mother's parents, devastated by the loss of their only child, welcomed their granddaughter with open arms and much love.

Evie never knew much about her father. Bronwen, her Mom, and later her grandparents, made sure she was kept in the dark about the man who sired her. It was obvious to the child, however, that her mother loved him and thought he was in Birmingham, where she believed she would find him one day. She even kept a shoe box full of mementos of their time together, and a diary, which Evie was forbidden to touch. The shoe box made its way to Wales along with the little girl. Evie would sneak the box down from its hiding place at the top of a wardrobe and look through the contents time and time again, as she tried to piece together the history of her becoming. She was told in Cae Tresaint never to mention her father, but she knew he was called "the Irishman," and that she got her wild red hair and freckles from him.

There were other secrets, prejudices and mysteries concerning the town's people, including the disappearance and probable death of a local girl. Evie had some classified information of her own - her undisclosed friendship with an outsider believed to be mad, a lie she tells which has terrible consequences, and a chilling incident with a green-eyed man that will mark her always.

"Eve Green" is compelling in the beauty of its lyrical prose. The magic of a little girl's poignant memories illuminates the novel. Here are revealing portraits of the grandparents Eve loves so much; her three deep and important childhood friendships - all with improbable people - a sensitive and caring farmhand, a crippled recluse, and an intellectual schoolmate with dreams of wandering the world. Eve's love of the Welsh countryside, language and lore is also evident. She has a sense of belonging in the natural world and Ms. Fletcher outdoes herself in her atmospheric descriptions:

"Tor-y-gwynt is surrounded by peat bogs and grass so sharp that it can nick your skin. Red kites are spotted there. Sheep and rabbit dung peppers its lower stones, and I've found many animal bones in the peat over the years - sheep, deer, others. And the wind is strong at the Tor. Hair flutters like a snared bird, and I used to like standing on the highest boulder, trying to keep my balance in the wind."

And: "Comes from the old shepherd’s hut on the ridge. My castle. My mossy, windy outpost. I’d charge up there on clear days hoping to spy a distant, hazy Cardigan Bay. I’d lie in wait behind the stones for hikers or birdwatchers or deer, or a glimpse of Billy Macklin before he became my friend. And I had breezy picnics in that tussock grass, secret teenage cigarettes, long daydreams, and I hid there in rainstorms or when I just didn’t want to be found."

"Eve Green" reminds me, in some ways, of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird." (Also of Richard Llewllyn's extraordinary "How Green Was My Valley"). Scout Finch, like Eve Green, is eight and bereft of her mother. Both novels are set in rural areas. They are both rich and colorful in description of locale and locals, and they explore the native customs and mores of the period. Reclusive characters Bo Radley and Billy Macklin are not dissimilar in nature. There are other commonalties, but the one which stands out the most is that these are both outstanding novels. Although, personally, I don't think there are many works of fiction written in English in the last 100 years to match "To Kill A Mockingbird." Given my feelings on that - "Eve Green" is an outstanding work and I recommend it highly! ENJOY!
JANA