**** RECOMMEND ****
Short, sharp and sweet like a sorbet
A mental cleanser
This was a delicious, refreshing read. Where some narratives are dense and rich with language like a Christmas pudding, this was a sorbet - fresh, mentally invigorating, a literary palate cleanser.
The language had a poignant simplicity, with an economy of words but a depth of insight. In so many ways we got to know and understand Lucy Barton by what was unwritten, subtleties that resonated after the narrative had moved on. This was a novel that provoked thought and discussion. Even though the book lacked sentimentality, it made you feel a tender concern for Lucy, an ingenue finding her way through life and love.
