View source for Snake Road by Sue Peebles

{{infobox1
|title=Snake Road
|author=Sue Peebles
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Exquisitely written and beautifully observed look at ageing and the dynamics of family life. Recommended.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=320
|publisher=Vintage
|date=November 2014
|isbn=978-0099575849
|website=http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/authors/sue-peebles
|cover=0099575841
|aznuk=0099575841
|aznus=0099575841
}}

No one listened when Peggy Kirkpatrick began talking about a baby called Eleanor - well, no one except her granddaughter Agatha.  You see, Peggy is elderly and she has dementia.  No one has heard of 'Eleanor'.  Some days are better than others, but none are particularly good.  Peggy's unpredictable and sometimes it is - quite literally - a fight to wash her and she'll either go outside in her nightdress or wear multiple skirts indoors.  The burden is carried most of the time by her daughter, Mary, but it's Aggie who attends the dementia carers' group in her place and it was probably this that provoked her into listening more carefully to what her Gran was saying and trying to learn more about her history in the hope of keeping Peggy in the present.

But Peggy Kirkpatrick isn't the only one who is mentally fragile: Aggie is too.  She and husband Alasdair had longed for a baby from when they were first married, a couple of years ago and Aggie is only just beginning to recover from a miscarriage.  Alasdair is ''fragile'' - he's blessed with a difficult mother - and Aggie's obsession (for that's what it becomes) with Peggy's history puts an appalling strain on their marriage.  When Aggie and Alasdair met Aggie was at university but she's dropped out and is now working as a dental assistant, but it's not long before she suspects that Alasdair is having an affair with her boss.

I first encountered Sue Peebles' writing when I read [[The Death of Lomond Friel by Sue Peebles|The Death of Lomond Friel]], another story of a dysfunctional family.  The characters from that book stayed in my mind long after I'd finished reading and I couldn't allow the chance to read another of her books to pass me by.  Sure enough, there's the same brilliant characterisation (I'm worried about Mary) but this time the writing has stepped up a notch with its gentle exploration of the dynamics of family life and the perils of ageing.  There's tremendous empathy with the people involved in this sad tale and - wonderfully - no attempt to extract humour from the tragedy of dementia.

I was torn by this book.  For personal reasons it cut just a little too close to the bone and I cannot honestly feel that I ''enjoyed'' it - sometimes it was almost too painful to read - but I have to say that the writing is absolutely exquisite, the ability to capture the reality of the lives her characters led is brilliant,  and the story perfectly balanced.  I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Do have a look at [[The Death of Lomond Friel by Sue Peebles|The Death of Lomond Friel]] and we think that you might also enjoy [[Asunder by Chloe Aridjis]].

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