The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Maggie O'Farrell

Iris Lockhart is the owner of a vintage store and best friends with her stepbrother. Her mother moved away from England years earlier, her father died when she was young, and she is responsible for her grandmother in a medical facility for Alzheimer's patients. Iris is shocked to discover she has a great-aunt who has been confined to a mental institution for over 60 years. Since she is legally responsible for her grandmother and her affairs, Esme Lennox is now Iris' responsibility.

Esme, her older sister Kitty, and her baby brother Hugo lived with their parents in India. Esme was the rebel of the children and often in trouble. When tragedy occured, the family returned to her father's home in Scotland. There Esme and Kitty were expected to grow into genteel women and marry well. Although Esme would like to continue school, their father flatly stated that no daughter of his will work. When she rebelled more then had other troubles, her family put her away. There she stayed, ignored until Iris goes to the institution and meets her.

When Iris visits her grandmother and asks about Esme, Kitty Lennox Lockheart rambles in and out of dementia. Iris doesn't know if she can trust anything her grandmother says. Her grandmother doesn't remember Iris is an adult or where she is. Anything she may say about her sister is suspect.

Iris has to find a way to care for Esme now that the facility is closing. She also has to decide what to do about her married lover. She supports her stepbrother in his awkward marriage. And she wants to learn more about Esme from her grandmother. It's going to be strange in her flat for a while.

What a fascinating book! The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox was a surprise to me. I don't know what I was expecting but I read an intriguing book that needs to be untangled.

The present day story is told in a straight forward fashion. But the story from 60 years past is also told. Part of the memories are Esme's and are twisted back and forth. Part of the memories are Kitty's and are incomplete and disjointed. By the time the reader has gotten to the end of Maggie O'Farrell's tale, the atmosphere of that earlier time has taken over the book and strengthened the present day story. All three points of view weave in and out of each other to at times confuse the reader and at other times clarify some action.

There are proper gaps in the story as well for the reader to imagine what happened. The present day story has some interaction that the reader catches glimpses of, but are not explained until near the end. Plus the book ends on an unfinished note - what's going to happen now that all these secrets are revealed? That is one more strength of the book. The reader gets to decide.

Family relationships can be sticky. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is a good tangled family tale. It reads fast and light but has a lot in it. This book is meatier that it first seems.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield