Review
One can't help but draw a parallel between Gibb's debut success Mouthing the Words and this equally impressive second novel. The theme: the long-suffering child battling with the mental repercussions of an unhappy childhood in a quest for independence. Siblings Emma and Blue suffer the misfortune of having a deluded father and a despondent mother. Their father's mental decline leaves his wife single-handedly holding the family together, fuelling her bitterness and worsening her alcoholism. Brother and sister grow up reliant on each other but gradually drift apart facing the various challenges life brings. Ultimately both experience success, but despite this, it is impossible for either to overcome the emotional scars left after their father abandons the family.
Sunday Times
Magdalen Nabb is magnificent on the medieval pageantry and sinister facades of her adopted Florence
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