by Shena Mackay
First published 1986
Luke Ribbons moves into the chaotic Slattery home after his release from prison. The vicar's son finds himself sharing space with a revolving cast of displaced young people, all drawn to the household's magnetic center: Pearl Slattery. She's a striking woman who has raised four children and now tends to grandchildren, walking a precarious line between social acceptance and financial collapse. Her complicated history has left its mark, making her wary of forming attachments. Luke becomes completely smitten with Pearl, but she treats him no differently than the other lost souls who pass through her doors. Desperate to win her affection and set himself apart from the crowd, Luke seeks help from a local practitioner of folk remedies. His plan backfires spectacularly. The story captures Luke's growing obsession with a woman who refuses to see him as special, while Pearl struggles to maintain her independence and protect herself from further heartbreak.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Redhill
Period: 20th-century
220 pages · Hardcover · London, Heinemann [