Instructions for a Heatwave is an
outstanding novel by award winning author Maggie O'Farrell.
It is the summer of 1976, the year of
the drought and heatwave in England. For Gretta Riordan, the day
begins the same as any other when she bakes bread and her retired
husband leaves the house to buy the newspaper. However, that is where
normailty ends, for Robert doesn't return from his visit to the local
shop. It is a mystery, like he has vanished into thin air. In her
desperation to find out where he is, Gretta tries to get into contact
with her three grown up and very different children.
Siblings Monica, Michael-Francis and
Aoife all live separate lives and seem to make little contact with
one another. At the time of their father's disappearance, each of
them are living with their own problems. Monica is trying to deal
with her partner's children, Michael-Francis and his wife are having
marital problems and Aoife is living in New York doing a job she
loves, but struggles with. As the family get to grips with Robert's
disappearance, the reader gets to know each character and their own
story. From London to New York and onto Ireland, the reader is swept
away in this mesmerising story.
This absorbing and beautifully written
book illustrates the ways in which secrets can tear families apart
and in some ways seek to bring them closer together. I really loved
this book, the characters are so well formed that I felt like I knew
them and the element of mystery meant that I didn't want to put it
down.
5 stars
Thank you to Tinder Press for sending
me a copy to review.
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