DubaiReader

"There is a man..........There is a man and the man is me"

What an amazing way to start a novel; so simple, yet so precise.

Maggie O'Farrell is a beautiful writer and I was disappointed to find that I hadn't highlighted more of her prose as I read this book.

The man is Daniel Sullivan, an American linguist with a failed marriage behind him and two children he hasn't seen for many years. When we meet him he is married to Claudette, a reclusive woman with an interesting past.

I don't really want to say any more because the whole theme of the book is gradually unravelling all the parts of this puzzle and putting them together as a whole.

The characterisations are excellent, but it is a bit of a cast of thousands, many of whom get to have their own say, and I did start to feel as if I should have taken notes. It's a complex interaction of emotions, sometimes frustrating, sometimes just wonderful. An insider's view of a marriage, with all its flaws.

I think Maggie O'Farrell is the only author for whom I have read every book she's written. Only one didn't quite make the grade for me. This Must be the Place has joined her excellent writing and was another joy to read.

Also read:

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (5 stars)

After You'd Gone (5 stars)

My Lover's Lover (3 stars)

The Distance Between Us (4.5 stars)

The Hand That First Held Mine (5 stars)

Instructions for a Heatwave (4 stars)