Book No: 47
Title: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Author: Maggie O’ Farrell
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2007
Obtained: 2008/Paperbackswap
Completed: 6/19/08
No. of Pages: 245
Rating: 4/5*****
I really enjoyed this book, a gothic tinged mystery.
Iris Lockhart is living out her life in Scotland, running her vintage clothing store, having an affair with a married man, and just living a fairly normal life. One day Iris receives a stunning phone call, regarding her Aunt Esme, a woman she never knew existed. It seems that Esme is being released from a local mental institution where she has been incarcerated for 60 years, and Iris is named as the person to receive notification. When Iris calls her mother she is assured there is a mistake, but Iris cannot ask her grandmother Kitty about Esme, because Kitty is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. So Iris brings her supposed aunt home, and tries to unravel the mystery of her incarceration.
Through Esme’s memories and Kitty’s ramblings we slowly piece together the tragic and haunting story of Esme, which leads to a final and stunning act.
I could not put this book down, I had to find out Esme’s story, and I had to read the ending twice to make sure I understood what happened. Very compelling read.
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