Blurb:
Isabel Sykes, 23, recounts the recent attempt she made to come to terms with the loss of her mother, the acclaimed but psychologically disturbed novelist Marianne Sykes. Marianne died in an unexplained house fire when Isabel was ten.
Inspired by the appearance of Imogen Taylor, an enchanting young woman who wants to write a PhD on her mother’s work, Isabel plunges into the depths of her past and an intense new friendship. After discovering that Imogen is not who she seems to be, Isabel must face the darkest moments from her childhood in order to protect her family from more tragedy.
She receives unexpected help from beyond the grave: in the strange, glittering fragments of her mother’s last, unfinished work, ‘Midnightsong’.
My Review:
Initially the story seems to be a bit vague but as the plot unfolds you start to understand things in a better way.
As a reader you are at the place of Isabel. Reading this novel is like experiencing her journey yourself.
The story is ambiguous at various points, as there are few questions which were left unanswered for the readers to make their own interpretations. There is lot of reading between the lines. It is a really different from all other thriller or suspense novels.
The suicide of Marianne is the central theme of the book but how everyone has been affected by it and what do they know about it varies from person to person. Love, loss, friendships, different personality traits of characters, decisions made in the spur of the moment but regretting later, mental health issues and inability to know everything are somethings which are very natural. Like our lives the story demands acceptance. We need to accept the things as it is, learn from the experiences and move on. And so is the story.
The author has a very beautiful poetic writing style. You can’t have enough of the book. You wish the story to continue even after it is finished.