Product Description

Mitch is a 25-year-old with commitment issues. Leonard is a five-year-old kid with asthma and vision problems, who captivates everyone he meets. Pearl is Leonard's teenage mother, who's trying to hide a violent secret from her past. Life has given Pearl every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbour, Mitch. Then one day, with a heart full of agony, Pearl drops Leonard off with Mitch and never returns. Pearl, Leonard and Mitch each have a story to tell and as their lives unfold, profound questions arise about the nature of love and family. How do you go on loving someone who isn't there? With Leonard's absolute conviction in 'forever love' always present, Leonard and Mitch grow up side by side and piece together the layered truths and fictions of their almost magical lives. The answers are heartbreaking, but ultimately triumphant.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61218 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Daily Express
A remarkable story of the magic of love

Publishers Weekly
Hyde excels in her story of a love that transcends time, place and
human weakness

Denver Post
A magnificent storyteller

Customer Reviews

Love - all that it is and all that it should be
This is yet another selection for the current Richard & Judy bookclub. If it hadn't have been on their list, I doubt I would ever have chosen to read it. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it - I wasn't expecting to.

The story is about 3 characters - Pearl, a teenage mother; Leonard, her son; and Mitch, her neighbour. The book is narrated by each of these characters, so the reader is able to gain their different perspectives.
Pearl begins the narration, describing a night as a young girl, when she witnessed a man being killed. This shocking image by Pearl really sets the tone for her following pieces of narration - it quickly becomes clear that Pearl has had a hard upbringing; her parents seem to be barely there for her, so much so that when Pearl is 13yrs old, she is approached by a young policeman, who has a drastic effect on her life. As she says, that is really the start of everything.
The 'everything' is that, when Leonard is 5yrs old, Pearl drops him off at Mitch's house and does not return.

Ultimately, this book is about love. Leonard, throughout his childhood does not doubt that his mother loved him - still loves him. He believes that, although she is not there physically with him, she is there in a whole other way; he sees her in the flame of a candle and within the sound of the ocean. But, if she loved him so much, why did she leave him? And why did she never tell him who his father was? Leonard does not even know what his surname is. As the story progresses, it examines how a belief in 'forever' love is able to keep Leonard believing in his mother's devotion, and so therefore enables him to also love his mother in spite of her absence.

Although this book did not really deal any major surprises or twists along the way, what I liked about it was the characterisation of Leonard. The way his mother had brought him up, even in just those short 5 years together, enabled him to have a well defined idea about love and what it should be. As Leonard comments on the reltionship that he witnesses Mitch having with a married woman, there are quite profound and very truthful insights into the nature of love between adults. For example, Leonard catches them hugging in Mitch's kitchen, and he describes actually feeling their need as though it was a type of hunger. As he watches them he asks himself, "If this is love, why does it look like it hurts?" (p.155).

I would recommend this book for a light read, but don't expect to be totally blown away. Although it was good, it did not leave me on the edge of my seat.

Wonderful writing
The story revolves around a charming little boy called Leonard whose young mother is desperate for an equally charmed life for him. However, in the way of that is her lack of family and the violent secret she is running from. She disappears when Leonard is 5, leaving him in the care of a sweet neighbour called Mitch. He is in his mid-20s and doesn't know much about looking after young children, but they rub together to make things work.

The tale is boldly told and the book is refreshingly concise. There is little room for saccharine sweetness or weepiness, with the result that Leonard does not come across as a tragic little boy, despite everything that is thrown at him, but a little star that everyone wants to succeed. The relationships he forms are powerful and focussed, enabling the author to flow between decades freely without losing the emphasis or momentum of the prose.

Leonard becomes increasingly focussed upon finding his mother as he grows older and seems to be unable to be truly happy until he does. Mitch is his greatest friend because he understands this, treating Leonard's ideas without prejudice throughout. Whether and where he finds his mother is something for the reader to discover - I have no interest in spoiling any plot.

The only reason I have not given this book 5 stars is because at the end of the book Hyde chooses to switch from her very effective writing style to a letter device. This is not a device that I am generally keen on because it is normally done badly - it is only usually effective at the opening of a novel, such as with E M Forster. I thought it let Hyde down a little. However, I'm still very glad I read it.

Gripping and haunting
This is a gorgeous book. I laughed and cried at Leonard - he is a unique character and you can't help but love him from the first moment you meet him. This novel really makes you think about how we love and grieve, and how we all need something to hope for. The ending was really exhilarating and moving and I will definitely be looking out for more books by Ryan Hyde.