Lyrical, beautiful and heartbreaking
This is the story of a big old house -Farthest house, and the secrets and guilt of the generations of woman who lived there.
The story opens with a Jeannie giving birth in Farthest House , attended by her husband Julian, the doctor, Julian’s mother-Leussy, and the ghost of the narrator-‘Amelie-Anais, who is Leussy’s Aunt . The baby Willow, is born but the doctor is unable to stop Jeannie from bleeding to death and the last word from her lips are “murder”. As if growing up without a mother and a endlessly grieving father wasn't enough for poor Willow to deal with, she also has a deformity on her shoulder, and prophetic visions of what is to come.
I don't want to give any more of the story away - just to say that the family is harboring some pretty dark secrets- and there are some seriously deranged characters roaming the pages. Warning There are some very dramatic scenes of child abuse, and trauma, but there are also scenes of profound love ,sacrifice and hope. The characters are fully developed and they make choices to avoid pain and turn a blind eye or fight fiercely to protect those they love, The ending was so good with the story lines wrapped up neatly. Highly recommend