Hidden Talents (by Erica James)

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In re-reading the novels by some of my favourite authors, I selected Erica James, whose novels I first discovered nearly twenty years ago. I was given - and read - ‘Hidden Talents’ around sixteen years ago, but despite having liked it very much I had not re-read it until the past few days.

I remembered that the story was about the members of a writing group, but nothing much else. So it was almost like reading a new book, with the added advantage that I knew I would enjoy it.

Dulcie is the catalyst for the writing group. She’s in her early sixties; sixteen years ago I probably thought her quite elderly, but she’s now only a couple of years older than I am. She’s had a bit of writing success, but would like some local writing companions. Dulcie has a secret, one which the reader learns about in the first chapter, but which she keeps hidden from most of her friends and certainly from her two adult children.

Four people join the group, a diverse set of people with different aims, all of whom have secrets or complications of some kind in their lives. Beth is the widowed mother of an eighteen-year-old son Nathan. The two get along very well, but there’s a great deal of stress with her in-laws. They seem to idolise Nathan’s late father in a way that Beth resents and Nathan finds increasingly difficult to cope with.

Jack is an estate agent who has recently been betrayed by his wife and best friend. He’s still angry, but is trying to move on with his life, and juggle his time with their two young daughters. Jack has a girlfriend, but is beginning to find her a bit too possessive - and he has quite a talent for writing, something he doesn’t want to share with her.

Jaz is a teenager at the same sixth form college as Nathan, whom she rather likes. But she has no idea that Nathan’s mother will be in the writing group. She joins because she has always loved writing, and because she wants something that takes her away from her loud, sometimes boorish family. She has two older brothers who do nothing around the house, and two younger sisters who are often wild and irritating. She’s the only academically minded member of her family, and is starting to resent being seen as the ‘responsible’ one.

Finally there’s Victor. He is convinced he’s written a masterpiece of a novel, and is a bit scathing about Dulcie’s writing exercises. But Victor is lonely, and his writing is becoming somewhat obsessive…

This unlikely group develops a bond based on their shared interest, and on some of the things they are able to express to each other. Life goes on around them, and the book consists of several stories running alongside each other. Each chapter uses a different viewpoint character, and although it was a tad confusing at first, it works well. Erica James has quite a talent for characterisation, and if some of her people are a bit caricatured, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I liked Jaz very much indeed. She’s outspoken, feisty, and intelligent. She has a dry sense of humour too, and is good at making the best of her stressful family life, although she’s rather lost touch with any sense of attachment to her parents. As part of her maturing through the book she begins to see them differently and to appreciate their good points.

Beth and Jack, too, are likeable people - Beth is quite stressed at the thought of Nathan going off to university but she gradually realises that she has to learn to live without him as her constant companion. And Jack has to let go of some of his bitterness, for the sake of his daughters. Victor is the odd one out, but I began to feel quite sorry for him despite his unprepossessing personality.

I never really felt much sympathy for Dulcie, however. I wondered if I would relate to her the most, as she’s nearest my age, but found her difficult to understand. It didn’t much matter; her story runs alongside the others, and is still interesting to read.

The writing is good, the conversation believable. I wasn’t too keen on the device of leaving some chapters on a dramatic cliff-hanger, only to find the event in question referred to in the past in future chapters, rather than continuing where it left off. But it didn’t much matter once I got used to it.

I had not remembered - nor was I expecting - some of the high drama in the book, which seems to increase during the course of the story. But I could see at least one of the surprises towards the end coming,

All in all, I thought this a very enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who likes women’s fiction with a strong writing-related theme.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews