Mathilde, a
young actress, finds in Claudio, a record store manager, the love of her life. From
the beginning it is clear that they will spend the rest of their days together
and have a family. Two lovely daughters are born quickly and a third, adopted
one, completes the family. Life could be perfect, but Claudio has a sister who has
always struggled from her mental illnesses and Mathilde’s brother is gay and
cannot have a family in the same way his sister does. When the girls get older,
other problems arise and the biggest challenge for the family is set when the
heart of one of the girls gets too weak to beat on.
I really
liked reading Christine Reilly’s novel. Her characters are interestingly drawn,
their problems are real and imaginable. The dialogues show liveliness and the
overall tone of the novel is a great joy to read. However, when I finished the
book, I was wondering what it was about. It is especially the relationships
that could captivate and convince me, but considering it all, they were like
touched and abandoned soon after. Mathilde and Claudio are a very interesting couple,
so are Claudio and his sister Jane or Mathilde and her brother. Also the girls
amongst themselves or with their boyfriends – so many good ideas which could
have filled novels on their own. Of course, the novel as it is somehow complete,
but it lacked a bit of focus. Nevertheless, a story which I can really
recommend, especially if you are looking for something slightly sad.
