The Memory
by Judith Barrow
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Pub Date 19 Mar 2020 | Archive Date 8 Mar 2022
Honno Press | Honno Modern Fiction
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Description
Nobody understands family like Judith Barrow...
Mother and daughter tied together by shame and secrecy, love and hate.
‘I wait by the bed. I move into her line of vision and it’s as though we’re watching one another, my mother and me; two women - trapped.’
Today has been a long time coming. Irene sits at her mother’s side waiting for the right moment, for the point at which she will know she is doing the right thing by Rose.
Rose was Irene’s little sister, an unwanted embarrassment to their mother Lilian but a treasure to Irene. Rose died thirty years ago, when she was eight, and nobody has talked about the circumstances of her death since. But Irene knows what she saw. Over the course of 24 hours their moving and tragic story is revealed – a story of love and duty, betrayal and loss – as Irene rediscovers the past and finds hope for the future.
The new novel from the bestselling author of the Howarth family saga:
"Judith Barrow has written, with great intensity of emotions, an absorbing saga which charges along, tempting the reader from chapter to chapter." www.gwales.com
"... gives the reader a great insight into life during the 60's and also how life was different within familes then" Boon's Bookcase
Advance Praise
"The Memory is a book that is both powerful and moving, exquisitely penetrating. I am drawn in, empathising so intensely with Irene that I feel every twinge of her frustration, resentment, utter weariness and abiding love." Thorne Moore
"Judith Barrow's greatest strength is her understanding of her characters and the times in which they live; The Memory is a poignant tale of love and hate in which you will feel every emotion experienced by Irene." Terry Tyler
"an intense and gripping account of familial tension, love, loss and desperation... ‘The Memory’ is a masterpiece..." Sally Spedding
"What a powerful story! Compelling, unputdownable... A profound portrayal of how life’s events sweep people along, often against their will and especially if they follow their hearts. Above all, The Memory is about life and death - all aspects of it - and ultimately, the redemptive power of love." Alex Martin
Available Editions
| EDITION | Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781912905133 |
| PRICE | £8.99 (GBP) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Beverley C, Educator
An really enjoyable read, exploring dark family secrets and the resulting distorted, disfunctional relationships. Loved the "stacatto", dual timeline, which added real depth to the emotional turmoil that is so central to the storyline. Will certainly be looking out for this author's next book
Cleo P, Reviewer
Although much of the story being told over my lifetime so it was familiar but with much of the content very much of the time it is set in i.e. the seventies and eighties, in some respects it could be considered historical fiction. Those details aside this is a novel firmly set around family and those that live within and without them.
Irene is eight years old when her younger sister Rose is born. Rose has Down Syndrome and was born after the time when these 'special' children were put out of sight, but that doesn't mean that the families don't need to come to terms with having a child whose life won't be as that they'd imagined. Rose's mother struggled but Irene adored her younger sister.
The story of Rose's life is interspersed with the current day story set in 2002 of Irene's mother's struggle with dementia and the realities are so well recorded that it feels as if the author has first hand experience.
This is a story that tugged at my heart-strings although I wanted to shake Irene for her inability to see the bigger picture but just as in real life, you can't agree with everyone's choices.
I have a feeling that this is a book that will linger....
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