Book lover. Stephen King Fanatic. Will try anything once. General Lover of Fiction. Reviewer Everywhere. All views my own. Mostly.
For a moment that afternoon, it was only woman and water, the Bay in all its sickening glory squaring itself for a fight.Life hasn’t always been perfect, but for Abe and Cassandra Green, an afternoon on the San Francisco Bay might be as good as it gets. He’s a doctor piloting his new sailing boat. She’s a sculptor finally getting a bit of recognition. Their beautiful daughter Elizabeth is off to Harvard at the end of the summer. But then there is a terrible row. Cassandra has been unfaithful. In a fit of insanity, Abe throws himself off the boat.
A compelling tale of human relationships and emotions, Katherine Hill’s “The Violet Hour” is a slow moving yet emotional tale of a rather dsyfunctional family. Telling the story of Abe and Cassandra Green, their lives, their marriage, their daughter, this is a classic family drama that ebbs and flows between events that influence and change them.
What I liked about this one is that it is not focussed on any one thing, more a selection of the ups and downs of life that change who we are. Told from the perspective of different players in the drama, the mother/daughter relationship is especially well drawn.
If you like your novels fast paced and heart stopping this is not for you – Ms Hill has a gentle rolling style that slowly but surely unravels the heart of her characters and tells you who they are – with love, loss, infidelity and desire all in the mix its a cleverly concocted and fascinating tale.
Recommended for lovers of angst and sprawling family histories where you will not love everyone you meet…
Happy Reading Folks!
**Thank you kindly to Penguin for the review copy via netgalley***