Starred review from January 1, 2017
Sixtysomething Richard Beart wants to solve the mystery of his dead mother's abandonment of him when he was an infant. He starts his search through French hospital records with only a memory fragment of a red pair of shoes worn by Inga Beart, an international literary sensation whose 1954 act of self-harm horrified the world. In tandem with his own quest, Richard sends his son, Neil, a student in England, on a delivery mission that takes him to Lithuania, France, and Paris. Neil is constantly sidetracked by his own half-recollection of a disturbing moment in his father's teaching career that cost Richard his job. Magdalena, whose mother is the designated recipient of Richard's gifts to be delivered by Neil, literally sees the histories and memories of everyone around her. Word fragments appear all over their bodies whenever she wears her glasses. The lives of Magdalena and the Bearts intersect, separate, and circle ever closer, triggering a hunt across several European countries in search of answers. VERDICT Hypnotically peculiar, exquisitely plotted, and teeming with suspense, Saunders's brilliant debut pulls at plot threads as delicate as gossamer silk to get at the truth and the destiny of her flawed, appealing, maddening characters.--Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.