by Fay Weldon
First published 1999
Clifford Wexford works at a prestigious international auction house when he meets Helen Lally in the 1960s. She is the daughter of an unconventional artist. They fall for each other instantly. Their love becomes a weapon they use against each other for two decades. Their fights are passionate and destructive. During one of their bitter arguments, their three year old daughter Nell vanishes. The little girl begins a strange journey that takes her far from home. She encounters aging French occultists who have lost their minds. She meets British criminals who deal drugs but show her unexpected kindness. Nell moves through a world that operates like an old fairy story. Fay Weldon builds this tale with the sharp humor that marks her work. The story follows fairy tale rules where coincidence shapes destiny and people transform into archetypes. Good and evil characters cross paths with Nell as she navigates her peculiar adventures. The novel examines how love can become its own form of cruelty.
Genres: drama, romance, literary-fiction, family-life, 20th-century, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: France, United Kingdom
Period: 1960s
Paperback · Ooievaar
Content warnings: domestic-violence, emotional-abuse, toxic-relationship