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funktious's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Somewhat disappointed in this. I loved The Room of Lost Things so thought I’d seek out more from the author, but found this very pedestrian in comparison. Lots of telling, not showing, one dimensional characters and an overly melodramatic plot.
The inter generational abuse and misogyny were one thing, but the tacked on arson plot was just way over the top, especially since this is supposed to be a small seaside town - I think that much arson might get noticed?!
The best parts were Kitty in London, slowly realising the situation she’d got herself into. I’d rather we spent more time with Kitty than Beth / Sara / Lucy who felt very interchangeable in places.
The best parts were Kitty in London, slowly realising the situation she’d got herself into. I’d rather we spent more time with Kitty than Beth / Sara / Lucy who felt very interchangeable in places.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Suicide, and Sexual violence
kazza27's review
5.0
Three generations of women Kitty, Sara, Beth and Lucy. All from Westmere a small seaside town.
We begin the story with a tragedy, Great Niece Lucy finding Kitty dead from suicide at Lullaby Beach her home for many years.
The family cannot believe that Kitty would do this and are angry and want to try and understand why she would leave them all. When Lucy eventually gives Sara the note she found with Kitty’s body they start to uncover the life and secrets that Kitty had hidden from them all.
The story retells Kitty’s life from when she leaves Westmere as a young woman to go to London. After living in the small seaside town which feels claustrophobic and dull, she longs for excitement. That excitement appears in who she thinks is the love of her life. Danny Nelson, son of a businessman who wants to get on too. He has dreams and Kitty buys into them but ends up working really hard in a small cafe.
Danny is a really nasty piece of work, ambitious and will stop at nothing in realising his dreams. After heading to London in the 1950’s. Kitty finds out that it is not the bright lights and glamour she thought. In fact she experiences violence, coercion and fear. The glimmer of light in these turbulent times is the wonderful Ernestine, a young Jamaican woman who lives in the same house as Kitty. They become friends to Danny’s dislike but this friendship is Kitty’s saviour. Kitty’s own family are worried about her but she loves Danny.
Interwoven into Kitty’s story is her families lives and how as the strong matriarch of the family she steps into the role of mother when Beth and Sara’s own mother dies. She really is the glue that holds them all together and they are bereft when she leaves them.
Kitty’s story really resonated with me as I was brought up in a tiny village and was always desperate to escape to more exciting things. I, like Kitty found that the familarity and community can also be supportive when help is needed. Sara and Beth have their own stories too. Sara like Kitty can’t wait to escape Westmere and her ticket out is to university in Newcastle. However, the summer before she leaves she gets a job in a local business working for Mark Nelson who is the nephew of Danny. He is married and Sara thinks that the affair is not hurting anyone if people don’t find out. She heads off to university and when there discovers another side to her sexuality and is shocked when Mark appears unexpectedly. Like Danny the apples don’t fall far from the tree and he is just as vile and manipulative as his uncle.
Beth married Tim when they were young and have also had their own struggles both work hard and have another daughter Etta and Tim works for the Nelson family.
There is a twist in this story that links all the generations and is what weaves all the women together as they come out fighting to protect Lucy who has also been a victim unbeknown to the sisters. As one of three sisters I completely understood and emphasised with the sister’s actions to make sure this cycle of abuse stops.
Stella pulls no punches with this family story, it really does show how the women are manipulated and made to believe their actions have attributed to the abuse they receive, which of course as they find out is never the case. Some scenes are traumatic abortion, rape, domestic violence and loss are all portrayed sensitively but as they often are brutal and Stella does not shy away from this. This book is clever, real and so honest.
Outstanding! I could not put it down and those last few chapters are so gripping and tense. I absolutely loved it and I loved Kitty what a woman !
5 stars *****
I received my copy of the book from Net Galley and Little Brown in return for a fair and unbiased review.
We begin the story with a tragedy, Great Niece Lucy finding Kitty dead from suicide at Lullaby Beach her home for many years.
The family cannot believe that Kitty would do this and are angry and want to try and understand why she would leave them all. When Lucy eventually gives Sara the note she found with Kitty’s body they start to uncover the life and secrets that Kitty had hidden from them all.
The story retells Kitty’s life from when she leaves Westmere as a young woman to go to London. After living in the small seaside town which feels claustrophobic and dull, she longs for excitement. That excitement appears in who she thinks is the love of her life. Danny Nelson, son of a businessman who wants to get on too. He has dreams and Kitty buys into them but ends up working really hard in a small cafe.
Danny is a really nasty piece of work, ambitious and will stop at nothing in realising his dreams. After heading to London in the 1950’s. Kitty finds out that it is not the bright lights and glamour she thought. In fact she experiences violence, coercion and fear. The glimmer of light in these turbulent times is the wonderful Ernestine, a young Jamaican woman who lives in the same house as Kitty. They become friends to Danny’s dislike but this friendship is Kitty’s saviour. Kitty’s own family are worried about her but she loves Danny.
Interwoven into Kitty’s story is her families lives and how as the strong matriarch of the family she steps into the role of mother when Beth and Sara’s own mother dies. She really is the glue that holds them all together and they are bereft when she leaves them.
Kitty’s story really resonated with me as I was brought up in a tiny village and was always desperate to escape to more exciting things. I, like Kitty found that the familarity and community can also be supportive when help is needed. Sara and Beth have their own stories too. Sara like Kitty can’t wait to escape Westmere and her ticket out is to university in Newcastle. However, the summer before she leaves she gets a job in a local business working for Mark Nelson who is the nephew of Danny. He is married and Sara thinks that the affair is not hurting anyone if people don’t find out. She heads off to university and when there discovers another side to her sexuality and is shocked when Mark appears unexpectedly. Like Danny the apples don’t fall far from the tree and he is just as vile and manipulative as his uncle.
Beth married Tim when they were young and have also had their own struggles both work hard and have another daughter Etta and Tim works for the Nelson family.
There is a twist in this story that links all the generations and is what weaves all the women together as they come out fighting to protect Lucy who has also been a victim unbeknown to the sisters. As one of three sisters I completely understood and emphasised with the sister’s actions to make sure this cycle of abuse stops.
Stella pulls no punches with this family story, it really does show how the women are manipulated and made to believe their actions have attributed to the abuse they receive, which of course as they find out is never the case. Some scenes are traumatic abortion, rape, domestic violence and loss are all portrayed sensitively but as they often are brutal and Stella does not shy away from this. This book is clever, real and so honest.
Outstanding! I could not put it down and those last few chapters are so gripping and tense. I absolutely loved it and I loved Kitty what a woman !
5 stars *****
I received my copy of the book from Net Galley and Little Brown in return for a fair and unbiased review.
beaniereadinginreading's review
3.0
Toxic masculinity and its awful effects shoot through this novel, which finishes in a satisfying, cathartic but measured way. I didn't always love it - some of the characters seemed more like ciphers than people or verging on the clichéd. And Duffy tries to crowbar in everything from Brexit to zero hours contracts, for no meaningful reason. But the novel's message is clear-eyed and intelligently delivered.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
3.0
Kitty has chosen to kill herself before she has to give up the beach hut she has made her home for over fifty years. A well-respected nurse and advocate for women's rights, she has a few secrets herself which her nieces discover. 1950s London and young Kitty has moved from Westmere, her parochial and provincial hometown to support her developer boyfriend but when her relationship leaves her in fear of her life and her sanity Kitty retreats back home. Sara has an affair with a married man before university but when he follows her and rapes her she is traumatised. Her niece Lucy is being blackmailed into committing arson. All three generations abused by two men from the same family and it has to stop.
I really wanted to love this book but found it really hard to do so. Some of the writing is excellent but the drama seems to be cranked up to the max and the characters so one-dimensional, especially the men. It seems as though every modern cliche is in there - domestic violence, rape, internet shaming, black lives matter - and because of that I became very cynical with the story. there is a really good idea here but it all seems just too overwrought for me.
I really wanted to love this book but found it really hard to do so. Some of the writing is excellent but the drama seems to be cranked up to the max and the characters so one-dimensional, especially the men. It seems as though every modern cliche is in there - domestic violence, rape, internet shaming, black lives matter - and because of that I became very cynical with the story. there is a really good idea here but it all seems just too overwrought for me.
milliemary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
novellenovels's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
jen_b22's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Abortion, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Miscarriage and Suicide
seonaidrogers's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Abortion
claire60's review against another edition
4.0
Stella Duffy is a wonderful storyteller and she is especially good at taking the ordinary and peeling back the layers, as she did in my favourite novel of hers, The Room of Lost Things. In this book she features three generations of women, the book's timeline interweaves between all of their various encounters with abusive men. Kitty the older woman, who's suicide opens the book, is the spine of the novel, her naivety and strength on display until she is able to use her wisdom to help other women. Beth and Sara, sisters with a legacy of secrecy and jealously between them, both having experienced depression and unable to tell the other why. Lucy the teenager, who discovers Kitty's body and who really doesn't know what to do with all the very adult things she is being asked to manage. Each of these women is lovingly portrayed, their complexity, their emotions and thoughts so clearly defined. We also get a nuanced picture of Kitty's first partner, Danny, the ambitious young man trying to prove himself a man with his fists. His nephew Mark also features, less nuanced, more of a pathetic nasty violent man.
Stella Duffy explores many themes in this book, corruption in small seaside towns, capitalism and zero-hour contracts, 'me too' it's complexity and it's damage for those who have experienced sexual abuse and the online trolling experienced by those who speak out, racism faced by the Windrush generation and the vital importance of women having agency over their bodies especially medically safe abortions. It's a lot for a short book but it doesn't feel like that, it is a wonderfully enthralling read through generations of women's experience. Drawn from a tradition of storytelling bringing things to light, I could imagine Kitty telling this story over a cup of tea by the fire, such is the skill of the writer. The book is powerful and uplifting which feels like a wonderful tribute to Kitty and all she endured that made her determined to support other women and LGBT people who found their way to her hut, drawn by the three candles burning in the window.
With thanks to Virago and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Stella Duffy explores many themes in this book, corruption in small seaside towns, capitalism and zero-hour contracts, 'me too' it's complexity and it's damage for those who have experienced sexual abuse and the online trolling experienced by those who speak out, racism faced by the Windrush generation and the vital importance of women having agency over their bodies especially medically safe abortions. It's a lot for a short book but it doesn't feel like that, it is a wonderfully enthralling read through generations of women's experience. Drawn from a tradition of storytelling bringing things to light, I could imagine Kitty telling this story over a cup of tea by the fire, such is the skill of the writer. The book is powerful and uplifting which feels like a wonderful tribute to Kitty and all she endured that made her determined to support other women and LGBT people who found their way to her hut, drawn by the three candles burning in the window.
With thanks to Virago and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
crossyc's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Violence