Product Description

From an exquisite new British voice comes a moving and multi-layered tale of a mother and son in the aftermath of a terrifying and life-changing incident. 'I missed the turning over Battersea Bridge. I didn't know it would make a difference...that the manner of living seconds and minutes mattered' Joan is a single mother - beautiful, talented and desired. John is her adored son, her 'Merboy'. Growing up in the West Country, his life is lived outdoors, playing in the creek by their cottage in Devon, swimming, hunting for shells, collecting bits of old boats. On his thirteenth birthday, Joan treats him to a trip to London to buy his first pair of Levi's jeans. Unused to city driving, she takes a wrong turn. The repercussions of that moment's hesitation are devastating...Their story recounts the life-altering effects of that one moment. It is a story about a mother's heartbreaking love for her son and the different ways people survive damage. With sensitivity and compassion, Jules Hardy's lyrical prose explores the strengths and flaws of this unique relationship between a mother and her son, and vividly describes the altered worlds in which they must live. It is a wonderfully assured debut from an extraordinary new British talent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39725 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

TIME OUT
‘A truly wonderful book; a heart-rending, heart-lifting tribute to many kinds of love’

DAILY MAIL
‘A powerful, heartwarming story about how mother and son try to piece together their lives … and overcome devastating psychological damage’

THE TIMES
‘Her writing is beautiful - Anita Shreve comes to mind as a comparison. Aesthetically, a pleasing experience’

Customer Reviews

A book not to be rushed.
Jules Hardy has written an excellent novel which is a delight to read, though I would strongly recommend readers not to rush headlong through this book. Do put it down regularly. Put it down so that you can breathe easily for a while and respond to the tensions which the writer explores in her story. This is a novel to think about and not just to consume.

The subject of the novel is as important as it is neglected. It is a novel about commitment and the love necessary to make a determined stance and hold on when the unthinkable happens to someone you love The story is about a mother-son relationship but the underlying theme is even more universal. For this is a novel about selfless love - a virtue not exactly in fashion today, ( has it ever been?)

The characters are very sensitively drawn and their inner lives have an authenticity that grips the reader and makes you care about their fate. At times I almost felt as if I were intruding on something personal , on a level of intimacy that as an outsider I didn't really merit.

When I had finished the book I felt that I had been on a journey through a waste land, and that I was back at the place I set out from, but more hopeful that the worst that has to be faced in life can be survived if we are determined and persistent in our love for each other.

This is a fascinating and profoundly optimistic novel which deserves to be read widely because it also tough and honest.

Just beautiful writing
I really loved this book, the writing is fantastic. The plot has harrowing moments, but stick with it (I'm very tender hearted, and had to steel myself), it's worth it.
The structure of the book is a bit complicated, and it flips backwards and forwards in time and between the two main narrators. It's not a book to be rushed - but you'll want to savour it. The characters are so clearly drawn and so tenderly and compassionately portrayed with their weaknesses and strengths. I think Jules Hardy won an award for this book - and it was richly deserved. I haven't read any of her other books, but I'd certainly look out for them.

Beautifully, sensitively written - quite un-put-downable.
I don't want to give the story away! But I can't wait to read another book by this author. Chapters alternate between those recording John's (the son's) thoughts, and those written in diary form by Joan (his mother). I read the whole book in just two sittings! Jules Hardy writes sensitively and with excellent use of the English language. You feel you actually get to know all the characters, including John's wife Sonja, his work partner, and Joan's best friend Ellen. It is a very sad book (not wanting to give too much away, we have someone dying of cancer; profound deafness; disfigurement; someone whose senses are muddled; a lonely man "and the first thing anyone notices about me is that I'm black"), and yet the overriding feeling when reading it is one of love conquering almost everything.