Katharine Davies

I wasn't sure quite what to expect of this short novel made up of short chapters headed by rotating character's names: Fitch, Melody, Leo, Boares, Valentina, Jonathan. It started out with a good deal of sadness: Melody's brother has committed suicide, Leo loves but is spurned by Melody, Valentina's brother has broken a promise, Fitch hopelessly crushes on his teacher, etc. It took me awhile before I remembered that I had bought the book because it was promoted as a modern-day riff on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night--and then I got it! Suddenly it became less tragic and more comic, a romp in which everyone was in love with the wrong person for the wrong reasons. Leo, the rich amateur musician who lives in a castle-like mansion, loves Melody because he has always loved Melody and can't imagine being matched with anyone else (he's the Orsino figure). Like Shakespeare's Olivia, Melody mourns a brother who has drowned and falls in love with another woman (Valentina)--only here there is no confusion of gender. Valentina, whose brother has sailed off to their childhood home in Sri Lanka despite a promise that they would go together, is hired by Leo to landscape his garden--and falls hopelessly in love with him. Melody's students, led by Fitch, play the roles of Feste and his crew; they torment the stuffy Mr. Boares (aka Malvolio). Davies doesn't hesitate to deviate from the original plot, enough to make her novel intriguing rather than solely derivative while retaining those "aha!" moments of recognition.

Overall, a light, fun read for the end of summer.… (mer)

Hush, Little Baby takes advantage of the numerous vantage points of the same narrator at different ages to weave together a story of loss and intense need. The theme of how our pasts shape the people we become is very apparent as Eira who struggled with the knowledge of her sister's secret pregnancy becomes a woman who needs a baby both to create a positive future for herself and atone for her past sins. Davies approaches the same story from a variety of different angles which allows for a deeper understanding of Eira's life, however, the storyline that follows the adult Eira through her present life doesn't come to life in the way that the narration from the younger Eira does. Overall, Hush, Little Baby is rewarding read. Davies successfully juggles her multiple versions of the same story well and brings them all together for a satisfying end.… (mer)