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Jump to navigationJump to searchSweets From Morocco by Jo Verity (view source)
Revision as of 14:01, 15 August 2020
, 14:01, 15 August 2020no edit summary
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Tessa and Lewis get along pretty well, for siblings. Tessa, a year older, is the clear leader; Lewis, a more dreamy and easy-going person, tends to follow her lead without much argument. So when Tessa is determined to hate their new baby brother, and even tries out some childish voodoo in the hope that he might disappear, Lewis joins in.
Tragically, something happens to the baby, and their lives are changed forever. Their mother becomes very depressed, their father increasingly controlling and bad-tempered. Tessa, perhaps as a consequence, becomes more irresponsible during her teenage years, while Lewis behaves impeccably, doing well in school and supporting his parents as much as he can.
1954, when Tessa is ten, we leap forward eight years and then see her in the throes of A-levels, lust and deceit. This device works well through the book; I saw cameos of their lives, catching up briefly on what happened in the intervening years without any feeling of missing out.
The novel is character-based, and I found both Tessa and Lewis eminently believable. Their parents are rather less well developed, and their Uncle Frank something of a caricature, but that didn't matter. We see them through the eyes of their offspring, after all. There are a couple of fascinating elderly characters early in the book, who give the children 'sweets from Morocco' when they visit, and also give them a glimpse into a life rather different from their own.
Their significance becomes clear later on.
Thanks to the publishers for sending this book.
If you enjoyed this book, you might also like to read [[The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney]] or [[Things to Make and Mend by Ruth Thomas]]. You might also appreciate [[Keep Her Quiet by Emma Curtis]].
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