Continental Drift (by Libby Purves)

I’m enjoying re-reading my novels by Libby Purves, although on the whole I liked her earlier ones rather better than her later ones. I’ve just finished reading ‘Continental Drift’, which I first read at the end of 2004. I had entirely forgotten both the people and the story in the intervening decade and a half.

The story is mainly about a married couple, Philip and Diana. He is in his fifties, just finishing a career in politics, as the novel starts. He’s rather bad-tempered and materialistic, but he is passionate about classical music and poetry. Diana does not share these interests; she barely tolerates opera, and in her mid-forties has just started working for a local radio station.

Philip isn’t happy about this, but at the start of the book he seems sexist and entirely lacking in empathy. He doesn’t like the fact that Diana is not always around to keep the house clean, or to cook the kind of food he wants. He’s also very stressed about the ending of his life in politics. He has somehow become involved in a financial scandal, although he’s an upright, rule-following kind of person so it all seems rather unfair.

Meanwhile, in Poland, a young woman called Eva is determined to travel through Western Europe, to see some culture, and eventually to get to England. She has letters from her penfriend of a few years ago, Manda, and hopes to visit her. Manda is Philip and Diana’s daughter, but she rather despises her parents and has moved out to a place of her own in London.

Eva arrives at Manda’s parents’ home one evening, tired and bedraggled, as they are hosting a dinner party. Their guests are three of Diana’s closest friends, and her young colleague, a DJ called Henry. The story basically revolves around these seven people. They include a friend who is terminally ill and another friend who is angry with her ex-husband.

Eva is the catalyst for many changes: into their rather staid lives she brings new Polish recipes, the ability to make the house feel clean and welcoming, and also a way of speaking of what is on her heart in rather an un-English way. She is able to offer overt sympathy, to listen to people without condemnation, and to know what to do or say in difficult circumstances.

The book is very well-written, in Libby Purves’s usual incisive style. It’s character-based, although there’s a significant subplot involving Henry’s young son and his estranged girlfriend. The story explores Eva’s gradual awakening to what is important in her life. It also sees Philip and Diana realising that much of their marriage has been a sham. There’s no physical contact, no camaraderie, no sharing of their thoughts or feelings.

I hadn’t remembered where the story was going. I think what happens is handled well, and probably realistically, although I found the resolution immensely sad. There’s plenty of hope at the end, which is a tad more abrupt than I like, but it wasn’t the conclusion I was hoping for.

Still, although the book isn’t exactly uplifting or encouraging, it was an interesting read and one I found difficult to put down at times. The byline on the front cover calls it ‘wry and beguiling’, and I think that’s a good description. The settings are believable, in part based on the author’s own experiences as a journalist and broadcaster, and the people three dimensional.

Recommended if you like women’s fiction with a bit more bite than is typical for this genre.

No longer in print in paperback form, though it can often be found second-hand. However it is also available inexpensively for the Kindle.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews