Review
“A supple and complex meditation on how we grapple with the unknown. The sensual vitality of Valerie Compton’s prose calls to mind the writings of Lisa Moore or E. Annie Proulx.” — Catherine Bush, author of Claire’s Head
Book Description
When Stella disappears, leaving her toddler and husband behind, her mother Sonia, a widowed farm wife and former lighthouse keeper, struggles to face the possibility that her daughter may not have slipped through the ice. She may have been pushed. In a intensely memorable narrative with the deceptive pull of an undertow, Sonia’s past, a flotsam of lost dreams, bruised hopes, buried love, wells up to meet her. Confronted with her own history of choices and failures, Sonia is compelled to revise her perception of her daughter’s life and dramatically change the way she lives her own. Compton is a deft draughtsman of character, whose powers of description, timing, and astounding revelation coalesce into a splendidly nuanced account of the unguessed-at legacies of a life shaped by choices. (20120504)
From the Back Cover
Memory changes, as the events of history never do. On a strangely warm day in January, Stella vanishes without a trace, leaving behind a young daughter and a husband bewildered by her sudden absence. The police officially label her disappearance an accident, a drowning, Stella somehow slipping beneath the thin ice of a nearby river. As her mother Sonia clings to the remnants of her family, she begins to harbour a deepening suspicion that Stella’s departure was no accident. With the deceptive drag of an undertow, the chaotic flotsam of misplaced dreams, bruised hopes and buried loves of Sonia’s past well up to overwhelm her. Confronted with her own history of ill-considered choices and failures, Sonia is compelled to revise her preconceptions of her daughter’s life and dramatically alter the way she lives her own. A subltle draughtsman of character, Compton’s powers of description, timing and revelation coalesce into a splendidly delicate account of one woman’s present shaped by the unanticipated legacies of her past.
About the Author
Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, Valerie Compton now lives in Halifax, where she writes and teaches fiction writing. Her stories have appeared in numerous publications, including The New Quarterly, The Malahat Review, and Riddle Fence. Her articles have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Gourmet Magazine, The Ottawa Citizen, and Quill & Quire.
