Casting Off (by Libby Purves)

(Amazon UK link)

When I enjoy a book, I like to re-read it every ten years or so; this seems to be a good gap, giving me sufficient time to forget most of the details, even if I recall the overall theme and the basic plot. It’s been twelve years since I last read Libby Purves’ debut novel, ‘Casting Off’, so it was more than time for a re-read.

The story opens in dramatic fashion, as Ray Brewster, who works at a small marina on the South coast of England, watches a woman start her yacht, and is startled that she throws a bunch of car keys at him. It quickly transpires that she intended to throw them to her husband, Keith, who is wearing a similar pullover. Keith and Joanna have just spent a weekend out sailing with their teenage daughter Susan, and were about to return home when Joanna apparently had a hissy fit and decided to go out to sea by herself for a few hours.

The story is told from alternating viewpoints, and the style works very well. Joanna is a competent sailor although she has never taken the yacht out on her own. Nor was she aware that a storm was brewing. So instead of going out for a short sail and then returning home, she has to anchor for the night.

Keith, meanwhile, is rather bewildered. He’s a gentle, likeable guy who works as a solicitor. His life is well-ordered, and although he and Joanna have been arguing, he had not realise it was such a big deal to her. And when he hears the weather report, he becomes worried; then, unable to think straight, he reports Joanna’s defection to the police rather than to the marine authorities.

Unfortunately, one of the police officers gossips and the story is taken up, and exaggerated, by the media. So when Joanna turns on her radio in the morning, intending to phone home and let Keith know her plans, she hears a dramatic news story about herself. She loses her temper, and decides to sail further away…

Although it sounds quite serious, it’s a light-hearted book, with some caricatured people whom Joanna meets along the way. Her two children are rather stereotyped too: Lance, the hippy, laid-back brilliant scholar, and Susan, the angst-driven angry sixteen-year-old who is determined to defy her parents. Her best friend Mandy is even more caricatured; I didn’t like her at all, and never understood why Joanna was so fond of her.

But there are deeper issues going on too. Joanna has been working in a local cafe which she and Mandy own, but has had enough. She wants to sell up; Keith feels it’s a useful security for them. Keith is worried about his work, as his partner is moving on and they’ve worked together well for a long time. And Joanna has a painful secret in her past, one she has only hinted at even to Keith. Clearly something awful happened to a close friend of hers, but we don’t learn exactly what it is until much later in the book.

Libby Purves manages to keep the story moving at a good pace. Although I did remember the outcome as far as Joanna was concerned, I had entirely forgotten the various other people whom she came across in her voyage. Some of the situations are rather sleazy, but there are no gratuitous details, and the tone is light enough that it didn’t feel unpleasant.

My only slight problem with the book is the immense amount of sailing jargon. The author was writing from her own experience; she is known as an expert sailor. But although I’m married to someone who sails, much of the sailing language went over my head. I don’t suppose it mattered. Perhaps I missed out on the sense of urgency when Joanna has difficulties with the weather, and with one of the sails; but I don’t suppose it matters.

Rather different from general women’s fiction; likely to be of particular interest to those who enjoy being out on boats, but it’s a good story with an entirely satisfactory conclusion.

Recommended.

'Casting Off' is not currently in print, but can often be found second-hand. It is also available in Kindle form.

Review by Sue F copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews