Bereavement.

This was the first book I'd read by the prolific Ms Forster, and I have to confess, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The author has a beautiful use of words that just carries you along, gradually absorbing the facts as they are presented and simultaneously empathising with the struggles of the bereaved family. To be honest, not a lot happens, but I respect that the author therefore had the sense to make this a fairly short book (200 pgs), not putting us through unnecessary verbosity.

The book is narrated by Louise, whose 18 year-old daughter, Miranda has drowned in a sailing accident. The whole family is devastated but each family member reacts differently. To my mind, Louise's reaction was the one I most related to, while her husband was driven to research parts of boats and engine mechanisms in a bid to find someone to blame. His extreme, obsessive reaction drives a wedge between himself and his family. Miranda's twin sister and their younger brother each deal with the loss individually, though I was surprised that the twin's reaction wasn't more extreme.

It is Margaret Forster's description of the emotions and psychology of loss that are the strength of the book. I loved her subtleties and perceptions:
"When Lynne left, her energy always left with her, and I collapsed again". (Pg 21)

Only the ending left me a little dissatisfied. As I had related to Louise, I felt the pressure she was under at the end, I'm not sure I'd have been so accommodating. I will say no more. ( )

I think I ought to start keeping track of all the Miranda's I find in books. There are many more of them in fiction than there are in real life. The Miranda in this book is the eighteen year old daughter of the protagonist, and I confess that I thought the book might be a bit of a tough read when the jacket copy told me that this Miranda got killed in a sailing accident. Tough just because of the naming coincidence with my daughter rather than just because of the death of a child. All Forster's books seem to revolve around death one way or another so by now I was expecting that to be the theme. The family here aren't recovering very well from the bereavement, the children are finding it easier to cope with than the parents, and it's the shifts in the relationships between the family members that make it really interesting reading.

This is about how a family deals with the death of a daughter, told from the mother's point of view. Her husband reacts to the accident by obsessively looking for something or someone to blame, which makes everything a lot more difficult on the rest of the family. I can't say I enjoyed this one, but it was well written, and the characters and their emotions were very vividly described. ( )

Louise and Don's daughter Miranda has died in a freak accident. After her death and the initial grieving, Louise decides that, although devastated, she has to try and move on with her life. However, the tragedy has affected Don tremendously and he becomes obsessed with finding someone or something to blame for it. His obsession has torn their marriage and their family apart. They have two remaining children - Molly (Miranda's twin) and Finn. The children have their own grief to deal with, but on the whole seem to be coping as well as can be expected. However, the family is slowly being torn apart by Don's obsession and Louise's changing feelings towards her husband.

This is a beautifully written book. Louise herself is the narrator, and I think the first person narrative helps the reader to empathise with her, and the other characters. The book starts after Miranda's death, and although the details of what happened to her are explained, the story centres on the aftermath and the struggle to come to terms with such a terrible event.

Each and every character is extremely well written and totally convincing. It is easy to like Louise, and still be able to see her actions through the eyes of others. Despite the fact that the others don't narrate any part of the story, it is also easy for the reader to understand their actions and reactions.

Despite the subject matter, the book is not depressing, although it is very moving. The author does not dwell entirely on the effect that the accident had on the family, but also portrays situations of complete normality, showing how their lives, while forever changed, must in some ways remain the same.

I have never read anything by Margaret Forster before, but this book has absolutely made me want to read more of her books. This is a highly recommended book. ( )

Over is a novel about what happens after a tragedy in a family. Not the tragedy itself but its aftermath; what's left when the tide recedes and it's over. A daughter has died, suddenly, shockingly, and the different ways in which her parents respond to the tragedy, and how this affects the other siblings, is at the heart of things. The sad story is narrated by the mother, Louise, who is trying to hold herself together and get on with life, trying to understand not "what happened," but what has happened to them all in the wake of the accident. Only gradually do we learn some of the details of the tragedy - a storm blew up, a yacht capsized, but the body was never found. Louise's husband cannot come to terms with the lack of knowledge and uncertainty and becomes obsessive in his quest for a reason and someone to blame. His wife just wants to come to terms with it. She moves out of the home and goes back to work. Their other children can't deal with the way their parents are tearing the family and each other apart.