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A review by novelvisits
Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley
3.0
Note: I received a copy of this book from Harper (via Edelweiss) in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks!
My Thoughts: Alex and Christine, Zach and Lydia have a complex relationship. They’re best friends, both as couples and singles. They also have a complex history. In her early 20’s Lydia pined after Alex, the dashing young writer, but her interest was never returned. Christine dated Zach for a couple of years, but they parted as friends. As two married couples they shared a close bond, everything in balance and standing strong. Then, Zach suddenly died and for the trio remaining all balance was lost.
I loved the first half of the story as Hadley moved between the present where Alex, Christine and Lydia were just trying to find a new footing, and the past where she slowly revealed the complexities of their many relationships. The second half of the book became more tedious, moving slowly. I found myself caring less and less about these very rich characters she’d created in the first half, that is until the very end where she drew me in again. This was my first Tessa Hadley book, and I found myself drawn to her writing and her spot on renderings of characters in crises.
“It wasn’t like a stone after all, this intrusion of grief, a stone was cold and still, you could surround it, but this swelled inside her and receded then swelled again; she felt helpless against its violence, her usual self wrecked and lost, turned inside out.”
While this was a bit of an up and down book for me, I encourage others to try it. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For more reviews: https://novelvisits.com/
My Thoughts: Alex and Christine, Zach and Lydia have a complex relationship. They’re best friends, both as couples and singles. They also have a complex history. In her early 20’s Lydia pined after Alex, the dashing young writer, but her interest was never returned. Christine dated Zach for a couple of years, but they parted as friends. As two married couples they shared a close bond, everything in balance and standing strong. Then, Zach suddenly died and for the trio remaining all balance was lost.
I loved the first half of the story as Hadley moved between the present where Alex, Christine and Lydia were just trying to find a new footing, and the past where she slowly revealed the complexities of their many relationships. The second half of the book became more tedious, moving slowly. I found myself caring less and less about these very rich characters she’d created in the first half, that is until the very end where she drew me in again. This was my first Tessa Hadley book, and I found myself drawn to her writing and her spot on renderings of characters in crises.
“It wasn’t like a stone after all, this intrusion of grief, a stone was cold and still, you could surround it, but this swelled inside her and receded then swelled again; she felt helpless against its violence, her usual self wrecked and lost, turned inside out.”
While this was a bit of an up and down book for me, I encourage others to try it. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For more reviews: https://novelvisits.com/