ARTFUL READING CLUB
December 27, 2013
THE DISTANT HOURS by Kate Morton
I'm sad to realize that this is my last "official" entry in Darcy's Art and Sole: Artful Reader's Club. It's been a year of reading, reviewing and producing art pieces inspired by the books I've read. I, for one, plan to continue my monthly book review and inspired art whether or not Darcy continues to challenge us on her blog. I hope you'll continue to join me on my blog.
This month's book was a biggie, but worth the time. THE DISTANT HOURS by Kate Morton started with a letter...one that had been lost for a very long time... received by Edie Burchill's mother, Meredith. This is the catalyst for a mystery that pulls Edie to Milderhurst Castle outside of London, in Kent. Her mother spent the summer at Milderhurst as an evacuee from the air raids in London during WWII, but is now reluctant to talk about the time. In this engrossing read full of family secrets and betrayal...equal parts mystery and historical fiction...the novel swings back and forth in time as a young woman living in the early 1990's, Edie Burchill, researches her mother's past experience and her stay at the Castle, a property literally mired in secrets.
The castle is still inhabited by the sisters Blythe...now very elderly ladies...twins Percy and Saffy and their younger sister, Juniper, who has never recovered from being abandoned by her fiancée during the war. The contemporary and historical narratives combine to aid Edie in unraveling the mysteries surrounding her mother's past and that of the eccentric sisters. But of course, there are many twists and turns before we learn the bitter truth.
Milderhurst Castle dominates this tale with its imposing architecture...it's a living, breathing creature filled with the echoes and voices of previous inhabitants from those distant hours...and it inevitably weaves a spell over those who enter its doors (literally and figuratively!) The characters are very well developed and engaging, plus we have all the usual Gothic elements of mystery, gloom and menace. For me, THE DISTANT HOURS was a perfect book...perhaps it will be for you, too.
Have a Happy New Year...wishing you the best of everything in 2014!
Until soon,
Hugs,
abbyj
