Stevie‘s review of 59 Memory Lane by Celia Anderson
Contemporary Women’s Fiction published by HarperCollins 25 Jul 19
Mysteries unravelled and family secrets revealed through the examination of long-forgotten letters is one of my favourite tropes, especially when the discoveries take place in a small, close-knit community. So this debut had my attention almost before I’d finished reading the admittedly short blurb. The cover stuck in my mind too, with its treasure trove of a memory box peeping out from under a stamped and addressed envelope. And treasure troves of memories are exactly what we get here, thanks to May Rosevere’s rather unusual gift, which is what she believes has enabled her to live to one hundred and ten. As the story begins, she is hoping her gift will enable her to reach the very special age – in her mind, at least – of one hundred and eleven.May, like her father and grandmother before her, is able to sense the memories captured in everyday objects and is convinced that some of this special energy is transferred to her, causing her to age more slowly than those around her. She suspects that this transference is not without a cost to those whose memories she ‘harvests,’ but has no precedent to refer to, since her father died in the Blitz and her grandmother also died at a relatively early age from influenza. Having heard her father, amongst others, make reference to something never being surpassed, even if they reach the grand old age of one hundred and eleven, May is determined to reach that milestone. Since moving from her family home in the centre of the Cornish village of Pengelly to a more manageable bungalow on the outskirts, however, she has found memorable objects harder to come by. This all changes when one of the local ladies starts an ‘adopt a granny’ scheme and pairs May with her recently widowed neighbour, Julia, who has uncovered a lifetime’s worth of letters hoarded by her late husband and detailing several family arguments and the mystery of a lost opal ring. Seeing an irresistible opportunity to both gain healing energy from the memories contained in the letters and to solve the mystery of why Julia fell out with her years before, May offers to help sort the correspondence with the ultimate idea that Julia can write a book based on her in-laws’ saga.
As May gains strength from the memories, Julia seems to become more forgetful. Panicking that she is experiencing the beginning of dementia, she enlists the help of her neighbours and summons her granddaughter home from the US for an extended holiday. Emily is quite relieved to get some time away, having recently ended an affair with a narcissistic married man, and soon gets involved in both the reading of the letters and other aspects of village life. She also becomes friendly with another of her grandmother’s neighbours, a young widower, who gardens and does odd jobs for all the local old folks and is slightly overprotective of his six-year-old daughter.
I loved all the characters in this book, as well as the hints of magical realism with regard to May’s abilities, and the overarching mysteries contained in the letters as well as around May herself, whose husband drowned in a boating accident under slightly unusual circumstances, and who has been involved with a number of lovers both before and after his not-especially-mourned-by-anyone death. The resolution of all the plot threads is just perfect, but I really want to visit Pengelly and especially Memory Lane again at some point in the future to see how everyone’s getting along.
Grade: A
Summary:
May Rosevere has reached the grand old age of one-hundred-and-ten, thanks to a slice of toast with butter every morning, a glass (or two) of sherry in the evening, and the wonders of the Cornish sea breeze – or so she tells everyone.But May has a secret. One that no one has ever discovered, not even her late husband Charles.
A treasure trove of long-forgotten letters, just waiting to reveal their secrets, and frosty neighbour Julia are changing everything…
Read an excerpt.
