Temple House is a private Catholic school set on cliff tops in Ireland. Twenty five years ago a 16 year old girl and her arts teacher went missing and no trace of them was ever found. Nuns and prefects kept a very close eye on the girls - the atmosphere is repressive. Those who do not "fit in" are treated as outsiders. Enter Louisa, Victoria and Mr Lavelle - are they pretentious or independent spirits? A journalist who, as a very small child, lived close to Louisa - the girl who disappeared, looks for a story around the 25th anniversary of the disappearance.
For me this book took a slightly unusual approach which I'm still not sure about. The first thing we get is Victoria's current story. She is the girl who did not go missing and this part is dramatic. After that we hear Louisa's story in part then the journalist's take on what she finds out. The book then takes parts of each of their stories. It intrigued me but I did find it a little odd. As it started in some senses at the end.
Throughout this book I felt there was a real sense of foreboding which impressed me. The best bits are excellent. The main characters in this were well worked. The whole story felt very evocative of time and place. On some level this is rather an ordinary story. Young girl and her arts teacher go missing from a private Catholic school. 25 years later a nosy reporter decides to dig the story up again and find out what really happened. I guess I came to this book thinking that was the story. But it isn't really! This has far more to it than some I've read with a similar outline. It's about people who "fit" and people who don't; people with blinkers and those without. It is also about love and growing up and maybe some of the cracks in society.
For me this book took a slightly unusual approach which I'm still not sure about. The first thing we get is Victoria's current story. She is the girl who did not go missing and this part is dramatic. After that we hear Louisa's story in part then the journalist's take on what she finds out. The book then takes parts of each of their stories. It intrigued me but I did find it a little odd. As it started in some senses at the end.
Throughout this book I felt there was a real sense of foreboding which impressed me. The best bits are excellent. The main characters in this were well worked. The whole story felt very evocative of time and place. On some level this is rather an ordinary story. Young girl and her arts teacher go missing from a private Catholic school. 25 years later a nosy reporter decides to dig the story up again and find out what really happened. I guess I came to this book thinking that was the story. But it isn't really! This has far more to it than some I've read with a similar outline. It's about people who "fit" and people who don't; people with blinkers and those without. It is also about love and growing up and maybe some of the cracks in society.