Illuminations

I enjoyed this novel about an elderly woman whose journey into dementia allows her daughter, scarred from a difficult childhood, and grandson, recovering from a harrowing experience as a soldier in the Iraq War, to gain some understanding about their family history. This isn't a story with a neatly tied in a bow redemption ending or cozy, feel-good cliches about forgiveness and healing. All the main characters have had terrible difficulties to deal with, and the problems they now face are so recognizable as problems that ordinary people have to manage. The story manages to show the movement of a small amount of grace into the life of this struggling family, and the sense of wonder that can come with it.

That's pretty vague, but I don't want to give anything away by providing detail. Suffice it to say, I appreciated this author's attention to the details of conversation in contexts from the retirement home to the battlefield. Descriptions of the crowds at a Blackpool festival and of the details of armoured vehicles were equally well attended to. This book is worth reading.