It is 1964 and as Dr David Henry delivers his wife’s twins he realises that although his son is healthy, his
daughter has
Down’s syndrome. He makes an instant
decision. He tells his wife that their
daughter has died while secretly entrusting her care to his nurse, telling the nurse to take the baby to a home, not unusual for the 1960’s. When the nurse sees the home where she is supposed to leave Phoebe she decides she cannot do so and disappears with the baby and brings her up as her own. There begins a tragic family story which is a real page-turner.
I think this book is extremely well written. We have five stories running alongside each other but they are so cleverly developed and interwoven that I never had to flip back in the book to remind myself of characters or any elements of the story. Although you feel horrified at David’s decision gradually you begin to have some understanding as to the circumstances that led to it. It is one of those books that I am sure I will want to read again.