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A review by jmatkinson1
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
5.0
Twelve years ago Masha's life changed irrevocably when her young son disappeared, presumed drowned. Masha left her pos tin the local council and retrained to become a psychotherapist but her demons pursued her. Living alone with only her beloved wolfhound Haizum for company, Masha haunts the local cemetery finding solace among the gravestones and swims at the lido. Slowly though, Masha realises that she needs to move on and with the help of her friends so decides to put the past behind her and open up her life to new experiences and possibly romance. Meanwhile single mother Alice drifts around sanity trying to protect her son Mattie but Alice and Masha are linked and their lives are about to collide.
This is a very slow book to savour and enjoy. The characters are quirky and the twist at the end is somewhat unexpected and all the better for it. There are gaping holes in the narrative but I can forgive these are the writing is incredibly engaging and almost very restrained. There are huge themes touched on here, the loss of a child, cancer, mental illness, family breakdown etc. but they are handled so delicately that it is only after finishing the book that the reader actually realises how profound the story is.
This is a very slow book to savour and enjoy. The characters are quirky and the twist at the end is somewhat unexpected and all the better for it. There are gaping holes in the narrative but I can forgive these are the writing is incredibly engaging and almost very restrained. There are huge themes touched on here, the loss of a child, cancer, mental illness, family breakdown etc. but they are handled so delicately that it is only after finishing the book that the reader actually realises how profound the story is.