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I suspect Maggie o’Farrell will turn out to be one of those writers whose fans lurk in the bushes outside the book stores waiting to pounce when her next book comes in.
I didn’t quite get to her last bestseller, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, but I certainly heard about it enough. Popular with book clubs when it came out a couple of years ago, everyone I knew who read it raved about it.
But now I can rave about her new book, The Hand That First Held oine.
Lexie is a bored 21-year-old whiling away the summer in post-World War II Devon when dashing Londoner Innes Kent steps through the hedge to find out where he can get his sports car fixed. Post-World War II Devon doesn’t stand a chance after that and soon Lexi finds herself at the heart of the 1950s Soho art scene with Innes at her side and the world at her feet.
Meanwhile, in the modern day, Finnish runaway Elina is reeling from the traumatic birth of her first child as Ted, her boyfriend, struggles to cope with the changes baby Jonah brings with him. How these two stories collide will keep you turning page after page of Maggie o’Farrell’s beautiful work until its thoroughly rewarding conclusion. Not only does she tell a great story, she draws her characters so clearly you almost wonder if you’ve met them somewhere.
It doesn’t exactly hit you in the face, what it’s all about, but rather slides in underneath you. As a result, it wasn’t until after I had finished *The Hand That First **Held oine *and was staring at the ceiling thinking about it that I realised it is really about motherhood and the strength of the bonds that come attached – whether they remain so or otherwise. A lyrical, smart, compelling read. Next book, I will be lurking in the bushes.