The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell
Fresh out of university and in disgrace, Lexie Sinclair is waiting for life to begin. When the sophisticated Innes Kent turns up on her doorstep in rural Devon, she realises she can wait no longer, and leaves for London. There, Lexie carves out a new life for herself at the heart of bohemian 1950s Soho, with Innes by her side.
In the present, Ted and Elina no longer recognise their lives after the arrival of their first child. Elina, an artist, wonders if she will ever paint again, while Ted is disturbed by memories of his own childhood – memories that don’t tally with his parents’ version of events.
As Ted’s search for answers gathers momentum, so a portrait is revealed of two women separated by fifty years, but linked by their passionate refusal to settle for ordinary lives.
by Sophie
There are two stories here: that of Lexie Sinclair, who sets out to London from Devon in the 1950s and discovers bohemian Soho, a woman before her time. And then there’s Elina and Ted, who’ve just had a baby, in 2010ish. Elina nearly dies of blood loss giving birth, and her memory is patchy. So is Ted’s, who doesn’t remember anything from before he was 9.
As you follow these characters in their separate lives and times you are treated to the beautiful and distinct O’Farrell style: sparse, observant, detailed, a story in pictures, almost.
Gradually the two story lines begin to merge, but to say how would give too much away!
This book is an ode to the more difficult parts of motherhood that no baby manual ever mentions, as well as a story about the slippery nature of memories, both as they come and as they go.
Please read it!
