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Protection
Marina is homeless, and struggling to keep her son out of care. Liam has received a letter from the father he has not seen for 20 years - the father who is in prison for his mother's murder. Hannah is an elderly widow running a B&B peopled by memories rather than guests. The lives of all three unexpectedly intersect.
276 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 2, 2011
This is the second of Claire Allen's novels that I've read, and I've enjoyed both of them very much.
Essentially the story of three damaged people; Marina a young single mum to 18 month old Oscar, Liam a twenty-something young man who is struggling to fit in and Hannah, an elderly seaside landlady who is full of regret and sadness about how her life has worked out.
Marina, Liam and Hannah cross paths in a small, grey Welsh seaside town. Both Marina and Liam are running away, from life and from their memories and elderly Hannah is living alone in a house far too big for her surrounded by her memories and regrets.
All three characters are expertly drawn, especially the female leads. Liam is a little harder to understand or to warm to, and it is only towards the end of the story that the reader begins to understand why he is such a hard, cold character.
The descriptions of a grey, cold and windy wintertime in a rundown Welsh seaside resort are excellent and really add to the sense of the story.
Only a short novel at just under 250 pages but one that draws the reader in very well.
Essentially the story of three damaged people; Marina a young single mum to 18 month old Oscar, Liam a twenty-something young man who is struggling to fit in and Hannah, an elderly seaside landlady who is full of regret and sadness about how her life has worked out.
Marina, Liam and Hannah cross paths in a small, grey Welsh seaside town. Both Marina and Liam are running away, from life and from their memories and elderly Hannah is living alone in a house far too big for her surrounded by her memories and regrets.
All three characters are expertly drawn, especially the female leads. Liam is a little harder to understand or to warm to, and it is only towards the end of the story that the reader begins to understand why he is such a hard, cold character.
The descriptions of a grey, cold and windy wintertime in a rundown Welsh seaside resort are excellent and really add to the sense of the story.
Only a short novel at just under 250 pages but one that draws the reader in very well.
May 22, 2017
A lovely, heartwarming book about three lost souls that cross paths. The protagonists are beautifully characterized, written so that you can't help but empathize with them. Not a book about how everything will be okay in the end, but definitely a book about how long it can take you resolve something in your past, and the resolution the three reach is brief but very satisfying. Never once do their struggles and thoughts come off as forced, and neither do their intertwining paths.
March 1, 2024
A good book - enjoyed the mum protecting her boy and nice lady took them in
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews