Shadow Child (by Libby Purves)

I have very much enjoyed re-reading the novels by Libby Purves, and have just finished re-reading the last one she wrote, ‘Shadow Child’. I read this first in September 2011, not quite nine years ago, but had entirely forgotten the story.

It’s told in the first person by Marion, who lives in a village with her husband Tom. They’ve been happy enough together, although they were only able to have one child, Sam. And we quickly learn that Sam died in a tragic accident the night before his 21st birthday.

Marion and Tom are both trying to move on, grieving inwardly but not wanting to drag each other down. Marion relies on her close friend Sarah to be calm and incisive in giving advice or offering a shoulder. Sarah was bereaved too, many years earlier, so she is one of the few people who can truly empathise.

The story gets going almost immediately - Marion returns home from the funeral of an elderly man she knows, to find Tom in a bad temper. He’s been trying to work on accounts and getting stressed about tax inspections, but he’s particularly angry now because he had an unexpected visitor. It was, he says, a hippy who asked for their late son, and became annoyed when Tom said she couldn’t speak to him. She left before he was able to explain why.

This incident is the catalyst for Marion to try to discover who this woman is, and what she wanted from Sam. Tom has no interest in following it up, however, and is thinking that they need to emigrate somewhere as far away as possible. He and Marion have an argument, and most of the rest of the story is about Marion’s search, and what she discovers…

It’s a thoughtful, moving story, one I liked very much when I first read it, and which I appreciated probably even more this time around. It involves prejudices of many sorts - of the middle-class suburbia, of grass-roots man-hating women, of unusual gifts between friends… and itt demonstrates, above all, the importance of friendship, loyalty and love.

Marion copes tremendously well when taken a long way out of her usual situation; Tom takes longer to adjust to some ideas and philosophies that are far removed from his conventional lifestyle. But they are not the only ones who change: Libby Purves creates immensely likeable characters with reasons for their hangups and prejudices, and allows them to move beyond them when they meet exceptions to their preconceived notions.

It’s impossible to say much more without giving spoilers. It’s a very well-written book, with three-dimensional characters and a hopeful, positive outcome.

Very highly recommended to anyone who likes women’s fiction that touches on several contemporary issues, and which has a great deal of depth. 'Shadow Child' is still in print, often found second-hand, or available inexpensively in Kindle form.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews