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A review by leemac027
Echolalia by Briohny Doyle
4.0
This book is so fascinating I hoovered it up in just over a day!
It is written in both the 'Before' and the 'After' and it took me a little while to come to grips with the chapters flipping between, but once that settled I was drawn in to the life of Emma.
Emma Cormac is perfect - well at least the world she inhabits thinks she is. She has married into a wealthy and prominent family whose business interests are in development and their business approach results in them getting what they want no matter how they get it.
The family is dominated by the matriarch, Pat, a very strong and opinionated woman who looks down her nose at Emma for any sign that she is not representing the family brand as she should. But Emma is struggling. After her first child Clem is born, all is well - the house perfect, the décor immaculate, the kid fine, the social circle maintained.
Arthur, her second child, brings challenges as he is non-verbal. Emma feels a huge connection to Arthur but also the guilt of being responsible for his condition. Then along comes baby number three, Robbie - a big, demanding boy who looks perfect but Emma is completely distanced from him.
How can she continue to be the perfect wife, fitting in to the demands of this prominent family, raising the kids while feeling like she is drifting away unable to cope.
There are so many issues raised in this book: post-natal depression, anxiety, grief, power, powerlessness, greed, status, violence. All of these weave in and out of the narrative and impact each character.
A riveting read.
It is written in both the 'Before' and the 'After' and it took me a little while to come to grips with the chapters flipping between, but once that settled I was drawn in to the life of Emma.
Emma Cormac is perfect - well at least the world she inhabits thinks she is. She has married into a wealthy and prominent family whose business interests are in development and their business approach results in them getting what they want no matter how they get it.
The family is dominated by the matriarch, Pat, a very strong and opinionated woman who looks down her nose at Emma for any sign that she is not representing the family brand as she should. But Emma is struggling. After her first child Clem is born, all is well - the house perfect, the décor immaculate, the kid fine, the social circle maintained.
Arthur, her second child, brings challenges as he is non-verbal. Emma feels a huge connection to Arthur but also the guilt of being responsible for his condition. Then along comes baby number three, Robbie - a big, demanding boy who looks perfect but Emma is completely distanced from him.
How can she continue to be the perfect wife, fitting in to the demands of this prominent family, raising the kids while feeling like she is drifting away unable to cope.
There are so many issues raised in this book: post-natal depression, anxiety, grief, power, powerlessness, greed, status, violence. All of these weave in and out of the narrative and impact each character.
A riveting read.