Homecomings (by Marcia Willett)

I do so like Marcia Willett’s novels. She writes gentle character-based women’s fiction in exactly the genre I appreciate most. She has quite a gift of characterisation, and is a prolific writer. I put all her books in my wishlist as soon as they’re available in paperback, and was delighted to be given ‘Homecomings’ last Christmas. It’s taken me six months to pick it up to read, but once I’d started I could hardly bear to put it down.

There are several important characters in this book. We first meet Ned, a man who is, I suppose, in his mid-eighties. He’s a little frail, but likes to be independent and he’s basically in good health. Ned’s nephew Hugo, who used to work at the BBC, has retired to look after Ned and the two get along very well.

We quickly learn that Ned had two cousins: Jamie, who is more like a brother to him, who has been working in the RAF, and Jack, who died in his twenties. Jack was Ned’s son, and he still grieves for him, but he’s very fond of his two nephews. He and Hugo live in Cornwall, and although they haven’t been there very long they’re starting to make a lot of local friends.

One of these friends is Dossie, and I was delighted when I realised that she was a significant character in the book ‘The Christmas Angel’, which I read four-and-a-half years ago. The people in that book evidently made quite an impression on me, because I also recalled Dossie’s son Clem, who is a minister, and Clem’s son Jakey, who is now ten. Her parents have died and she now owns their former home, and runs a successful catering business.

Dossie has never been close to her brother Adam; he didn’t get along very well with his parents, either. Part of this book is an unpacking of his past, and we learn some of the reasons why he has felt so angry and bitter. He and Dossie start to get to know each other, and it’s a positive, encouraging storyline.

Janna, who was one of the main characters in ‘The Christmas Angel’ is still settled where we left her at the end of the other book, and mostly contented. We don’t see much of the nuns, but although they were the viewpoint characters of the earlier book, I didn’t really remember any of them. But I was glad to catch up with Janna.

There are many subplots nicely intertwined in this novel: Jamie comes to stay with Ned and Hugo, and we learn about their past rivalries and friendship. Hugo is a gentle, caring person and Jamie more outgoing. Hugo meets a young woman who reminds him of someone he used to know in the past… and that triggers another important storyline.

It’s nicely paced; there’s not a great deal of action, but plenty of interaction between the different people, and the story unfolds well. I found parts of it quite moving, parts of it thought-provoking. We see adults with insecurities and other problems because of childhood traumas or neglect. Family life is seen as of supreme importance, parenting a tremendous responsibility.

As with many of Willett’s books, there’s almost no bad language, no explicit scenes, and an underlying but non-threatening spiritual theme that pops up here and there. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am already looking forward to re-reading it in another ten years or so. Highly recommended to anyone who likes gentle women’s fiction with a bit of depth. It stands alone, but is all the better from having previously read ‘The Christmas Angel’.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews