The raison d'etre of this book is evident; the lives of ordinary people are interesting. The book centres around the Bradshaw family; three brothers, their spouses and their aged parents. The three brothers have ploughed their own furrow in life yet it is clear that their upbringing has had a profound affect on the way they think and interact with each other and with those around them. The wives chosen by each brother reflect their individuality. Each chapter in the book deals with the particular life and point of view of a member of the family. The author provides us with insights into the thoughts and actions of individuals and the ways in which hidden insecurity can influence their reactions in the most commonplace situations. For example, Leo the youngest of the brothers goes shopping for a coat. He enters the men's department in a store and eavesdrops on the interaction between a rather dominant woman and the man she is with. She is making all the decisions for this unfortunate man and Leo feels intimidated by it and leaves only to return later when he realises his folly. The author identifies the minute fascinations of the mundane; a journey on a train, a piano lesson, taking a child to school, helping a parent to clear the loft and conversations over a drink in the pub. In this respect there is little narrative drive but this is not the author's intention. Cusk focuses upon the internal life of the characters and intends to create a sense of the complexity of the interior life of her characters even within the context of domestic minutiae. This she undoubtedly achieves with some success. However, the preponderance of inconsequential detail and the lack of narrative thrust lends the novel the air of a stylistic exercise. It is clearly not a Dan Brown- style thrill ride, nor is meant to be. It is a literary novel and is beautifully, at times poetically written, but, ultimately, this reviewer was left wondering, "So what?"
