Shadow Child

by Libby Purves

'Family love is one of the most powerful elemental forces on earth, and at that moment, our last moment as a unit of three, we rode a great curling triumphant wave of it, all together. Death may have thought that he won, but I think otherwise.' There is no right way to deal with the loss of a beloved son. Marion and Tom are doing their dignified best, but their own relationship is taking a battering. So when a fierce, strange woman turns up and demands to see the dead boy, Marion is almost glad of the distraction. Against Tom's wishes, she determines to find out more about her son's life away from home. The quest takes her out of her comfortable, conventional world to a shabby office in East London, and a series of shocks. Tom, furious, finds his own solution, and amid scandal, sorrow and exaltation the quiet Middle-Englanders discover that there is more than one kind of family.

Genres: Fiction

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Libby Purves is a journalist and author who has been writing for The Times since 1982. A previous columnist of the year and author of 12 novels and non-fiction books, she was for 40 years a BBC Radio 4 broadcaster after becoming the Today programme’s first woman and youngest presenter.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marion, a fifty-something woman narrates this story, which begins several months after she and her husband Tom suffered a devastating tragedy which is still affecting them in many ways. Marion has a supportive friend called Sarah, and seems to be coming to terms with her loss gradually.. when they come into contact with the militant man-hating Djoolia. And that starts an amazing train of events that lead Marion into seeing lifestyles and living conditions she had never dreamed of, while Tom reacts in very different ways, and the two seem to be drifting apart.

It's hard to say more without giving anything away; suffice it to say that this is a powerful and moving book, which delves into several controversial issues, revealing different attitudes and reactions in a realistic way. Most of all, though, it shows how there can be lovable, genuine people in unexpected places. Great writing style, excellent pace, difficult to put down at times.

Definitely recommended to anyone who is able to be open-minded.

Latest longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libby Purves, having lost a son herself, certainly knows what grief feels like and that part of the book is very well done. It is let down however by the cliched, cardboard-cutout lesbian characters. On the whole though, the book is definitely worth a read.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't going to read this book when I saw it was about a middleaged couple whose son had died I thought i might get too emotional as my eldest son died last year but it was a surprising book and I really enjoyed it

[James Marland · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected delight. I’ve read Libby Purves in The Times for years, but this is the first of her novels I’ve tried. Many deft observations about middle age, with frequent delightful turns of phrase.

[Sharla (Reader in a Dangerous Time) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ramblings of a repressed British housewife. Yawn. Nearly DNF. Allie is the saving grace of this novel. I could read about her life for years.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've loved every single novel of Libby Purves' I've read. She gets to the very heart of Middle England domestic life and gives it a good shaking. Shadow Child tells the story of a 50-year-old woman whose son has died tragically just before his 21st birthday. Marion and Tom struggle to put on a brave face and manage to hold it together until three women come into their lives with a tale that blows their world apart. Their son, Sam, donated his sperm so that a good friend of his is able to have a child with her lesbian lover, Allie, who then leaves her for an older woman, the formidable, man-hating Julia. Tom, after a tortuous battle with the Inland Revenue, has a minor breakdown, Marion goes to confront Allie about the situation and Allie goes into labour. Marion helps deliver her grandson and a bond is formed. A wonderful tale of family and love. A crisis in Julia's life leads her to face her own demons and accept Condor, the grandson Marion and Tom never thought they'd have.

This novel leaves you feeling uplifted and optimistic. A real feel-good read!

[Isobel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow - much raw emotion in this which is very compelling. The start in the first person was a startling clue to this which was maintained to the end. Both Libby Purves fiction and regular journalism exudes much common sense. After her personal tragedy this book's theme seemed somewhat inevitable. Dealing with every parent's worst nightmare, reading it seems somewhat voyeuristic. The plot woven on top of the emotion is very up to date and again something which needs to be addressed by the comfortably Middle-aged Middle classes of the Middle English shires! Again coincidence helps out the plot, together with some literary justification for it, which I found midly amusing and somewhat unnecessary. Unlike some of her other recent novels Purves' usual common sense prevails in the end. Wonderful, descriptive prose makes this novel very easily readable.

[Frankie Valente · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book. Not sure I would have bought it given the subject matter, as it seemed a little depressing. However, it is a really good read. It is a very emotional read too, especially at the beginning. It is beautifully written, has a cast of great characters and I would have given it five stars but for one of the twists at the end which seemed a little implausible, but that is probably just my opinion.

[Lucy Blunden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing the author from the radio programmes she hosts, I was unsure about reading her fiction.
However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt the characters were real and identifiable with. I liked the story and the way she explored her subject. I liked the subject and its possibilities.
Some of the ways things panned out were too easy - people often don't come round to different ways of thinking that easily but they can.

[Judith Yeabsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mother borrowed this from the library so I decided to read (which I wouldn't normally have as the cover is a complete turn-off). The author writes well and is intelligent which made it chick-lit of the classier kind. The main characters were better rounded than the norm and their emotions were often convincing. However, the ending was disappointing and it wound towards that fuzziness way too early in the book for me ....

[Judith Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As ever with Libby Purves, this is a book about difficult emotions that still manages to leave you feeling that there is always hope and a future. Some parts, especially early on, where she describes a mother's grief,were very hard to read, knowing that she had lost an adult child of her own. This isn't mentioned on any of the blurb and I wondered if she has requested that that be the case.

[Kat Colorado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, warm, soothing. A good end, without too much kitsch.

[L.A. Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions of how the couple try to adjust to their life after bereavement are moving.

[Aratrika Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

something very different ....very good book