“This must be the place” by Maggie O’Farrell
“This must be the place” by Maggie O’Farrell
The plot of this book is a love story between Daniel, a professor of linguistics and Claudette, a famous film star, who has decided to vanish from public gaze.
Each chapter is like a short story, introducing a new, believable character. By the end of the book, they have become entwined with the central pair. A variety of issues- alcoholism, severe eczema, infertility, severe stammer, separation from children by a divorced wife, stress of being in the public eye, are vividly described , as we meet this large cast of characters.
Although the story begins in a dilapidated, isolated farmhouse in Donegal, the characters take us to Bolivia, Sweden, Paris, Brooklyn, China, India and London. We cared about them, as they dealt with bitter divorce, secrets, remorse, miscommunication, grief and love.
Readers loved O’Farrell’s ‘rhythmic flow of language’ . ‘Beautifully written dialogue’ and ‘quirky writing’.
The time switches and large number of characters created a problem for several readers. But they felt that for this book was worth making the effort, to take notes, or reread chapters (or the whole book).
Score was 9 out of 10