Rebecca Connell

. Connell's first novel, The Art of Losing, contains a dual narrative telling the story of an illicit affair and its long-term aftermath. Louise opens the novel by describing her arrival at Oxford, not as a university student, but as a young woman looking to discover the man whom she holds responsible for her mother's death. She insinuates herself into the man's life by attending the lectures he gives at the university and by seducing his son who is also a student. When Louise finally meets the man and his wife, she gives them her mother's name, Lydia, instead of her own attempting to gauge their attachment to her mother by their reaction.

The man, Nicholas, is the novel's second narrator. His narrative begins years earlier as he describes the rekindling of his affair with Louise's mother Lydia over a decade earlier. Nicholas and his wife Naomi meet Lydia and her husband Martin when they move to Oxford to begin careers at the university. Lydia and Nicholas both are aware of the risk they are taking each time they meet, but the passion they feel for each other leads to further meetings. What will happen when Lydia finally asks Nicholas to leave Naomi and marry her?

Louise discovers more information about her mother's affair with Nicholas after she manages to move in with the family for the winter holidays. Ms. Connell builds enough suspense through these twin narratives to give The Art of Losing a thriller element. Because Louise holds Nicholas responsible for her mother's death, there is a dramatic tension in the novel that rises over time as the reader can't help but wonder what she will do to Nicholas, his wife or his son once she has evidence against Nicholas. There is a matching sense of rising tension in Nicholas's narrative since we do not know the circumstances of Lydia's death nor how much was revealed to either Naomi or Martin.

Unfortunately, in the novels closing section, Ms. Connell relies on a dramatic reveal that I found a bit pedestrian, an attempt at a shocking revelation when a much more common one would have better done the job. I couldn't help but think what Iris Murdoch or Georges Simenon would have done with the same material and that maybe Ms. Connell is just young. Give her a few years and a few more books. The Art of Losing is a very promising first novel with a few shortcomings. I'll be interested in reading what Ms. Connell writes next.… (meer)

This book tells the story of Violet, a young woman whose husband has died. She lives with her parents-in-law, who she always refers to as mum and dad.

The first part of the book is told by Violet herself, as she mourns her husband, goes to work in a local clothes shop, and then becomes involved with another man. The second part is told by Harvey, Violet's father-in-law, who writes a journal to his dead son about his life from his university days up until Jonathan's death. Finally, we turn back to Violet as she finds out some home truths about her husband and her marriage.

The first section was quite compelling and I enjoyed it, but I felt Harvey's section was a little long-winded and I found it a bit disappointing after the promise of the first part, and I'm afraid the ending was very abrupt and didn't really seem to finalise the story satisfactorily. I'd say this is a fair read, keeps the reader interested to an extent, but ultimately is a bit of a letdown.… (meer)