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The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life

by William Nicholson
Soho, dist. by Consortium. Jul. 2010. c.346p. ISBN 978-1-56947-647-5. $24. F
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On a spring day in suburban Sussex, wife and mother Laura Broad receives a letter from a college boyfriend—the one who got away and left her devastated. Over the next six days, we follow Laura and a broad range of related characters as each confronts personal crises and ponders the meaning of happiness and fulfillment. Laura's husband, screenwriter Henry, deals with professional frustration while overhearing single-mother Liz Dickinson's phone conversation about her daughter, Alice, a classmate of Henry and Laura's son, Jack. Their instructor, Alan Strachan, himself a frustrated playwright, has an unknown admirer in Marion, a delusional neighbor. Local rector Miles has been hiding his loss of faith for years as parishioner Lord Edenfield uncovers disturbing family secrets. Nicholson, a novelist (Wind Singer) and Oscar-nominated screenwriter (Gladiator), deftly portrays this diverse set of characters, giving each a distinctive voice. Particularly striking is the handling of younger characters Alice Dickinson and Jack Broad as they negotiate adolescence.
VERDICT A brighter, more balanced vision of suburban life than is often found in fiction, this will appeal not only to fans of British fare but to any reader who enjoys contemporary fiction focusing on family relationships. Put this in the hands of any fortysomething patron who seems to be negotiating a midlife crisis and needs some gentle food for thought.
Reviewed by Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Lib., TX , Jul 01, 2010
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