This is a big book, but it is split into several parts and the vast majority of the chapters are short, or indeed very short (the shortest is only a couple of words!). It is eminently readable; and the narrator, Abigail Sorenson, is a very likeable character whose interactions her 4/5 year old son are beautifully observed.
We first meet Abigail when she is on her way to weekend retreat, but the book bounces back and forth through time giving us Abi's mindset/perspective throughout a 20 year time span.
We learn that Abi's brother disappeared just before her 16th birthday, and we also learn that around the same time Abi received a mysterious letter containing the first of many instalments of 'The Guidebook'. Twenty years later, when she is invited to a weekend retreat to "learn the truth" behind The Guidebook, Abi jumps at the chance as she hopes to find answers to so many questions....
This is a beautifully written book, which is essentially a book about loss and the various ways people try to deal with it, but it is so lighthearted in its tone, and so heartwarmingly familiar that it makes you smile and chuckle as well as feel sorrow. Thoroughly recommended.
We first meet Abigail when she is on her way to weekend retreat, but the book bounces back and forth through time giving us Abi's mindset/perspective throughout a 20 year time span.
We learn that Abi's brother disappeared just before her 16th birthday, and we also learn that around the same time Abi received a mysterious letter containing the first of many instalments of 'The Guidebook'. Twenty years later, when she is invited to a weekend retreat to "learn the truth" behind The Guidebook, Abi jumps at the chance as she hopes to find answers to so many questions....
This is a beautifully written book, which is essentially a book about loss and the various ways people try to deal with it, but it is so lighthearted in its tone, and so heartwarmingly familiar that it makes you smile and chuckle as well as feel sorrow. Thoroughly recommended.