Veena’s review of London From My Windows by Mary Carter
Literary Fiction published by Kensington Books 28 Jul 15
It was the book cover which first captured my imagination and then the back blurb seemed to seal it, and I just had to read the book. Mary Carter brings visibility to agoraphobia, the invisible disability, in a way that is both compassionate and yet funny and endearing. I definitely joined team Ava during the reading of this book, as did so many of the characters that she made a connection with during the telling of the story.
Ava’s agoraphobia happens as a result of her father’s heart attack while she’s dancing with him outside the house. Her mother’s anguish and blame, along with Ava’s guilt, are the trigger that prevent her from functioning outside the four walls of her prison. Nineteen years after her father’s death, the surprise inheritance of a flat in London jolts her out of her fear and darkness and emboldens her to make the journey.
I absolutely admire her grit that enables her to navigate the busy turmoil of arrivals at Heathrow, albeit some part of it with a garbage bag over her head. Let me tell you from personal experience that it’s not for the faint of heart. Having exchanged the prison of her rental in the states to a flat in the heart of London, she might have been content to watch life pass her by from her windows, except she learns that in order to inherit the flat she needs to complete a simple checklist, which might be a tourist short list, but is nothing short of a list of horrors for her.
I cheered Ava as she navigates the simple tasks of going to the market across the street from her apartment, making new friends, and facing her challenges with a trash bag over her head, a lot of Xanax, and even one shot of Ecstasy along with a lot of whisky. Despite her fears and panic attacks, she connects with people, whether it is the drag queen friends of Queenie, her aunt’s friend and contender for the flat, or a group of school children, and soon she’s got her very own cheerleaders who are rooting for her to succeed.
Of course, the light in her darkness is Jasper, the handsome attorney who’s a personal friend of her aunt and is the executor of her aunt’s estate. As she falls in love and forges an indelible connection with him and cheers him on in his own desires to give up the drabness of the law to explore a career as a comedian, I think it is sad and yet funny when he uses her as the subject of his performance and as she gives into her fear and slowly but surely slides under the table to hide in that fear.
This book and story is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a serious topic handled in a very capable manner, making the reader emotionally aware of the problem and connecting with the heroine.
Grade: A
Summary:
Ava Wilder’s home in small-town Iowa is her sanctuary. A talented sketch artist with severe agoraphobia, Ava spends her days drawing a far more adventurous life than her invisible disability allows. Until she receives a package from London, explaining that she has inherited her Aunt Beverly’s entire estate—on condition that she lives in Bev’s West End flat for a year.
Once overseas, Ava wonders if she’s simply swapped one prison for another. The streets and shops are intimidating, and Bev’s home appears to be a drop-in center for local eccentrics. Worst of all, Bev left a list of impossible provisos to be overseen by her quirky, attractive solicitor. Ava is expected to go out—to experience clubs, pubs, and culture; to visit Big Ben, Hyde Park, and the London Eye. After years of viewing the world through a pane of glass, she’s at the messy, complicated center of it. As exhilarated as she is terrified, will she be able to step up, step out, and claim the life she was meant for?
In an insightful, poignant novel, Mary Carter delves deep into self-discovery and the meaning of courage, exploring the fears that serve to protect us—until life calls us to connect at last.
No excerpt available.
