I wasn't sure about this novel at first. But once I got past the slightly flowery language, I actually quite enjoyed it. And although it has a sad theme, I didn't find it a sad book - in some ways it is accepting of the situation and that makes it bearable. ( )

This e-book arrived by surprise (I had pre-ordered it and forgotten about it). I started to read and didn't expect this to be more than a short break, but I found it compelling and beautiful and couldn't put it down. The skilful interaction between the two intertwined stories - the current and the past - is controlled and yet not constrained. It is a story of love, and compassion. At the point I was feeling I should put the book down, the story would move from the present to the past or vice versa.

Melvyn Bragg spoke about his experiences in writing this book (most of his work has a strong autobiographical link) at Hay Festival 2103 and how each revision took the work away from his recollections and personal experience into the fictional account we have. It may have moved from his personal experience but the closeness we feel in this account does lend an authenticity and genuine feel for the problems when a loved one is beginning to be vague about memory. ( )

Mary is in a care home. She has dementia and is visited by her son John as often as he can. Mary's mother was Grace, but she wasn't brought up by her and so the mother/daughter relationship was lost to them both. John tries to help Mary remember by recalling things from her past, and singing with her. The story flips between this and Grace's own story.

I found this to be a pleasant enough read, but overly descriptive. Thankfully, it was the sort of book where I didn't need to read every word to get the gist of the story otherwise I think I may have become too bogged down in it all, despite the short length. I enjoyed the reminiscences that the characters shared, and hearing about Grace's life, but it didn't have any emotion in it and was a little bit lacking for me overall. ( )