It's not often that a book makes me cry but The Trick to Time did. A beautifully written story about a love affair remembered by 60 year old Mona who lives alone and works with a local carpenter crafting dolls for women who have suffered the loss of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or cot death.

Although Mona has friends she is a solitary person and when she begins a relationship with a neighbour, Karl, life looks up. But Mona spends much of her time thinking about her first love, her husband, William. They both left Ireland for a new life in Birmingham but things go badly wrong on the night of the IRA bombings. The ending of her story is as unexpected as it is uplifting and I loved the portrayal of a strong female character who is able to overcome obstacles against all the odds.

The Trick to Time will appeal to readers who enjoyed Brooklyn. I'm sure Kit de Waal's many fans will not be disappointed in her second novel and hope it is as successful as My Name Is Leon. It is undoubtedly one of my books of 2018. Thanks to Netgalley and Viking for the opportunity toread and review this remarkable story.

I was already a big fan of Kit's as My Name is Leon was my book of 2017 so I had high hopes for The Trick To Time and they were absolutely fulfilled. Mona and William begin a life together full of hope and love but after a cataclysmic tragedy, the story is in how Kit reveals their individual histories, burdens and motivations.

Kit's writing is lyrical and rich, and like My Name is Leon, the book has incredible emotional punch and characters that linger for days in your mind. Her descriptions of place and time and involvement of current events in that period is so clever and so moving. I don't really have the words to explain how the ending made me feel but I literally couldn't move after I finished reading it, I had such a profound sense of grief despite the ending being ambiguous.

If you liked Eleanor Oliphant, you'll like this.

This is a beautifully written story which was a pleasure to read. I got totally caught up in this story. I laughed and I cried and read it in one sitting. The sadness and pain that is caused by a stillborn child is dealt with very sympathetically. Monas' story is told gradually. There has been a lot of pain and loss in her life and she spends her time helping others. I would definitely recommend this book. This story will stay with me for a long time.

I really loved 'My name is Leon', so I was eager to read this latest book from Kit de Waal. It certainly didn't disappoint! Mona is a 60 year old woman, living alone and running her doll making business. The book is really the story of her life, alternating between past and present. I don't want to spoil the story, so I will just say that it is beautifully written and incredibly moving. I really recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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Mona lives by the coast, running a toy shop. She dresses and sells wooden dolls made by a local carpenter. She also provides dolls for mothers whose babies have died. Her back story is that she was born and lived in Ireland as a child. She travelled to England, met William, married and settled down. Unfortunately her baby was stillborn and William could not cope.
There is mystery and a twist in the tale,
I enjoy Kit's writing but prefer a conclusive ending. I would recommend this book.

It’s 1970 an Irish girl leaves her loving father behind and moves to Birmingham. She is alone in a bedsit for the first time in her life. She meets William to charming Irish boy, it is love at first sight. They get married and struggle to make a home together. Mona falls pregnant and knows she will have to give up work. Unfortunately William also get laid off. The story unwinds from this point. I loved Mona, she is a strong woman in difficult times. She is a survivor. Beautifully told, the characters came to life in my head. I throughly recommend this book, pay attention near to the end as it is a bit confusing.

A beautiful and moving book. I was hooked from the outset by the descriptions of Mona's doll making business. Although I don't like dolls, I loved the beautiful descriptions of the outfits and fabrics she uses. Mona sounded like a lovely person, and was clearly well thought of by those she was close to.

I liked the pace of the book, and the time shifts reflect how I think many people's minds flit back and forth as they begin to get a bit older.- a memory triggered here and there is followed by a period of reflection.

I liked the revelations behind the slight mystery of where Mona lives now and how she came to be there (though I did guess).

The descriptions of how Mona helps bereaved mothers was so moving and made me cry. My own grandmother lost 3 babies and I found myself wishing that there had been someone like Mona to help her (things were different back then).

I will definitely read more by this author - who has a lovely way of telling a story and a delightful mastery of descriptive prose.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Kit De Waal’s first novel My name is Leon, So I was looking forward to reading this.
The story is about 60-year-old Mona who has a wooden doll shop and helps women deal with the grief of losing a child. The story also tells of how did she get to this stage in her life. It starts in the 1970’s after the death of her mother, Mona comes from Ireland and lives in Birmingham. She meets William and fall in love and get married. But life doesn’t run smoothly. Mona gets pregnant but loses the child. Mona is devastated, but, when William finds out, instead of supporting Mona he disappears too.
This is another emotional heartfelt and beautifully written story by Kit de Waal. I really enjoyed this and read it quite quickly. I liked the characters of Mona and Bridie. For me though I didn’t think it was good as her first novel and I thought the ending was a bit confusing.
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin books for a copy of this book.

I’m finding it hard to shake off the melancholy that’s surrounded me since I finished The Trick To Time, which is surely the sign of a special book. This was my introduction to Kit de Waal, and I had high hopes, since I’ve heard so many people choose My Name is Leon as their book of last year. I didn’t read anything about it before I started, but I was captivated by Mona and her quiet life and her dolls from the outset.

I liked the shifting nature of time in this novel, the way I had to locate myself in the opening sentences of each chapter. I liked the fact that the author didn’t signpost which parts were young Mona and which parts were older Mona. I enjoyed feeling a bit at sea at times. It was satisfying to make connections between the way older Mona lived and the experiences that had shaped her. It was heartbreaking, too.

This is a love story I’ll always remember, I think. Some characters worm their way into your heart and stay there, and I think Mona and William and Beatrice are firmly fixed in mine.

Beautiful, touching and moving... but I wasn't as emotionally attached to Mona and William as I was to Leon. A difficult topic for me (with some personal experience) but beautifully handled. I love Kit de Waal's writing and she doesn't disappoint with this second novel.

A great read, 4* highly recommend.

PS As i was reading a prepublication copy, it was sometimes difficult to see that the time switch had occurred. I expect that the final copy will make this clearer.

An unusual tale beautifully constructed about Mona, an Irish girl from Kilmore Quay and her sad life as a child and young married woman. William who marries her is changed by an incident that coincides with the death of their baby . As much as it tells of loss, we discover Mona’s gift linked with the Carpenter who makes her dolls. A great tale of fortitude and love plus adding in the other unusual characters of the story Karl, a sleepless neighbour who presents as a perfect gent, her assistant Joley who tries to bring her into the computer age before she leaves her and Sal who gives her support - each form part of her life as she copes with the past and the present. A memorable read!

I enjoyed the storyline but sometimes found it a bit confusing as it flicked backwards and forwards and sometimes took a couple of sentences before you realised where you were. I still enjoyed reading it though.

This is a moving tale of love and loss, following the life of Mona as she falls in love and marries. Although her own life has its share of tragedy, her compassionate nature means that she invests a lot of time in helping others but struggles with her own peace of mind. Excellent characterisation and the twists and turns of the story as it moves seamlessly between past and present males this a compelling read

A heart warming read concerning a difficult subject. Beautifully drawn out characters and a deft change between the 1970s and the present day. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I liked the story but it really didn’t leave me with much. It’s a nicely written novel about love and life’s tragedies and how we survive them. I would like to see some more depth in the characters instead of extended landscape descriptions.

What a beautifully written story. If you get confused at times whether you're in present tense or the past, roll with it, it adds to the sense of loss within the story. Highly recommended.

I have read numerous good reviews about this book and was keen to read it for myself. Mona has her own doll making business and coupled with this, has a side line in bereavement counselling in her own unique way. The story easily flicks back, following Mona as a young adult moving away from her family home and meeting William, and forth into the present day.
It's not my usual genre and so I choose to step out of my comfort zone to read this book. The story is emotional, but I sometimes found it difficult to follow and it didn’t move me sufficiently to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A lovely story of Mona or Desdemona to give her full name. She makes dolls for ladies who have lost their babies with the help of a carpenter. She meets William and thus begins their love story in England and Ireland. Well told with colourful characters. The story is heart tugging. Enjoyed book immensely.

A really moving read that was written beautifully, The trick to time is set both in the 1970's and the present day, A story of love and loss, Mona is a dollmaker who also provides bereavement counselling for those who have suffered infant loss. Thought provoking and poignant, this book connected with me on a level and left me and I am grateful to have been given the oppourtunity to read it.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher.

This is a gentle novel which explores the nature of family love and the impact of the loss of a child at or just before birth. Although this sounds rather depressing, the narrative holds the attention throughout, as we discover the history of the main character and what has led to her current circumstances. Essentially there is a message that grief can be managed over time, that there is no need to take the old approach of sweeping the experience of loss away, rather we should, quite literally, embrace the situation for what it is, learn to live with the sadness and loss of opportunities that the loss of a child represents and eventually move on in life. .