First of all, I liked the title and the beautiful cover (be sure to take the jacket off to get the full effect)  from the moment the ARC  landed in my hand. I was not disappointed after I had read even a few chapters. Mesmerizing, captivating,  and clever The Hand That First Held Mine is indeed! So, a reader first sees the title and usually thinks about it for at least a few moments, even if unconsciously. For most of us, the hand that first held our own would be the sweet hand of our mothers. If that statement jars you, then this book is for you.  They say that nothing is as strong as a mother’s love.

Author Maggie O’Farrell centers in on this concept with this beautiful novel set in England in two different time periods, the 1950s and the present. Two stories emerge. The reader is conscious that the two families must be related or joined somehow, or otherwise what’s the point? But not until mid way through this novel does the answer of “how” become somewhat clear, and as the novel speeds up at the end, a light bulb is turned on and shines shockingly at the truth, which has been hidden from one of the characters for his entire life. And on top of all of that, both families have newborns. Those of you who know me know that my mind is on babies right now anyway, so this novel had an added interest to me for the future as well as the past, thinking about the not so long ago when my now adult children were  precious babes in my arms. My how time flies!

Two women emerge as the protagonists; the first is Lexie, a winsome, overly confident 19 year old college dropout who decides, against her family’s wishes, to move to London on her own, when this is certainly not done in the 1950s. She falls in love with an artist type, and begins a  magazine career with this 14 year older boyfriend, who happens to be separated from his wife and her 12 yr. old angry, jealous daughter. That is  how “story one” begins. The ending shall remain untold. “Story two”, set in present day London, revolves around new mother Elina, a talented painter with a  winsome garden studio, and her troubled, distraught husband who is experiencing a challenge with the  physical and psychological demands of young fatherhood. To say that memories of the recent, as well as distant past, plague  the couple’s life is an understatement.

So, I keep asking myself why this novel is “SO good”!  I usually like psychological realism, so that fits here. I also like fulfilling character development, and that fits here as well. Additionally, I like clever language, and that also fits here with the added pleasure of reading truly “English phrases” such as “bedsit”, which in England means “apartment”. (The author, a mother of two and native of Wales and Scotland, who currently resides in London, two years ago wrote the popular foreign fiction hit The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, which Maggie said she liked a lot. )

One more thing, before I forget it…….the way the novel is written, that is the phraseology and diction, reminded me of  the use of the term “camera obscura” , the concept of the roving  omniscient camera seeing all, with the dedicated use of the present tense. It’s been some time since I have read a novel written in this manner, and it was very effective for me.  For instance, the author writes, “Lexie nods as if interested, but she is thinking about the bombsites she has seen around London–blackened craters choked with nettles, terraces with a sudden raw gap, windowless buildings with that sightless, vacant appearance–and she is thinking she wouldn’t go anywhere near them, wouldn’t have anything to do with them.”

I’m still thinking about the characters, and it’s been about two weeks since I savored the last few pages of this memorable novel. To me, that’s  a mark of a well written, enticing novel.  I’ll be trying to persuade customers to buy this little gem, The Hand That First Held Mine, for some time to come.  -Nan