What Have I Done?

Amanda Prowse seems to have exploded into the writing scene in the last year or so, releasing several novels and short stories. All seem to have been well received and I'd purchased a couple when prices dropped to bargain prices and stored them away waiting for the right time to delve in.

The subject matter of What Have I Done was enticing, the story of Kathryn a headmasters wife who suffers daily abuse at the hands of her headmaster husband and also the pain of the seeming indifference of her children toward her. This environment spawns dreadful consequences for them all.

Flitting through periods before, during and after Kathryn's abusive marriage Prowse writes an insightful tale which I found to be very moving to read. Not written with huge detail into the abuse it instead floats above it letting us glimpse Kathryn's pain as she lives it. I found this really moving and at times upsetting even though Prowse did not feel the need to graphically outline the events taking place.

Reading about Kathryn's abuse was difficult but it was her children's relationship with their mother which I found more difficult to read about. Their indifference to her feelings was heartbreaking and you could feel her aching from the pages and although some reviewers have said their characters made them dislike this book I fully understood their pain and the way they reacted to their mother especially when it was outlined in the present day meetings between mother and son.

The only reason I have given the book 3 stats and not 4 is because of the ending, I couldn't quite fathom how we got from the meeting between Kate & Dom and the way it ended. It was such a dramatic and unexplained turn around. I could have done with just one more chapter to fully explore a resolution and bring a more rounded end than the suddenness. The only other niggle I had was her travels to St Lucia seemed to have a very significant impact upon Kate yet she never seemed to come back to this again as an author. I felt this could have been further explored.

It's a good read and I'm certainly looking forward to reading more by Amanda Prowse now. I'm glad I didn't allow some of the very poor reviews of this book to influence me.