The Reading Room

Discovering a new author is one of life's small pleasures. Recently, during one of my frequent browsing sessions at the library I came across The Bed I Made by Lucy Whitehouse. It's a couple of years old but it made an impact on me and therefore I felt it was worth a review.

The blurb of the book was interesting but what most drew me to the book was the comparison made to Maggie O'Farrell by the Guardian on the back cover. O'Farrell is one of my favourite authors and any book that may be similar to her style of writing is worth a read in my opinion. 

The book is centred on the character of Kate, a thirty-something translator from London who has recently escaped to the Isle of Wight following the end of an intense relationship with a man who just won't let her go. The story focuses on her new isolated life as she attempts to come to terms with her own experiences, overcome her loneliness and find her identity on an island far removed from her old London life. She finds it is not a place where peace will be easily found however and her own troubles become woven with those of others she meets on the Island. Interspersed with this is the back story of her failed relationship with Richard and how he both charmed and terrified her. But the past is not just consigned to her memories and it soon begins to catch up with her.

I love books that flit between present and past, I feel it really keeps the pace of the story going and allows the narrative to unfold slowly over the course of the novel. It's a gripping book but Whitehouse isn't afraid of long descriptive passages, which explore Kate's inner turmoil, paranoia and sense of guilt. The description also works wonderfully for evoking a real sense of the Isle of Wight and, although I've never been, I could imagine myself there on the cliffs, in the small towns and rowing down the river. 

Whitehouse kept me hooked until the end and it was one of those books that made you feel slightly sad it was over as you want to read more. That said, I have mixed opinions on the use of epilogues in books and I did feel like any loose ends and questions were all tied up a little too neatly in the last chapter. Some people like this closure in a book but I'd have preferred to have a few options left open to keep my imagination going. Aside from this the book was thoroughly enjoyable and I felt really immersed in the story. I can definitely see the comparison to O'Farrell, and while I can't see Whitehouse overtaking her in my reading favourites quite yet I would very much like to read more of her work. Lucky for me as she has a new book being released this month that I'll have to my ever-growing 'to read' pile!