EM - August/September 2012 [31]

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Audio version

Life

August/September 2012 www.esb.ie/em

The perfect place for a hideaway!
Wales
page 32

A raspberry revolution
page 32

the image shows three bright, juciy raspberries.

Image in-box

a selection of your photography

image shows the view of a stone tower through a window.

‘Round Tower, Glendalough’ by Michael Hughes.

image shows a winding road that runs beside a lake- we can see that it’s a beautiful day.

‘Kylemore Lough’ by Pam O’Shea.

image shows a Kingfisher bird close up. It is pearched in a branch.

‘Kingfisher’ by Kevin Grace.

image shows a wale jumping out of some water- we can see a small boat in the vast background.

‘Whale Watching, Alaska’ by Stephanie Mooney.

image shows two puffins in the long grass.

‘Pair of Puffins’ by Bill Ryan.

image shows a red sky sunset over a lake - we can see sailboats in the background.

‘Arisaig Sunset, Scotland’ by Dave Shepherd.

image shows three small kingfisher birds on a branch surrounded by leaves.

‘Kingfisher’s Row” by Brian O’Mahoney.

By Kathleen Thorne

BOOK REVIEW

How It All Began
By Penelope Lively
Published by Penguin
Price €16.99

Charlotte Rainsford is mugged on a London street. Her handbag is stolen and she sustains injuries that require hospitalisation. She then needs a period of recuperation at the house of her daughter, Rose Donovan.

Charlotte’s problems lead to a series of events in the lives of people who are either directly connected with her or who are entirely on the periphery of her life.

Some of those people are completely unknown to her, such as Jeremy and Stella Dalton, a couple. Their marriage breaks up as a consequence of Charlotte’s mugging.

Jeremy has a mistress who is the niece of Lord Henry Peters, for whom Rose Donovan works. Rose cannot go to work on the fateful day because she has to care for her mother Charlotte. Lord Henry calls on his niece Marion to accompany him on a trip to a meeting in Manchester. From there she sends a text message to her lover, Jeremy Dalton. In it she explains what has happened, and signs off with a declaration of love. His wife Stella reads the message and promptly dismisses her husband for his infidelity.

Charlotte is bored and feels uncomfortable in Rose’s house. She therefore resumes some work on a literacy programme that she had previously worked on. One of the students on the programme, Anton, is sent to Charlotte at Rose’s house for one-to-one tuition.

Anton makes great progress with reading but also becomes more than a little friendly with Rose. This provides her with some diversion from her marriage to dull Gerry.

Eventually all the characters work through their several complications. In the process each character’s ‘reality’ enters the reader’s consciousness in a really convincing manner. However, it is the interweaving of so many events – that all stem from one violent act – that is the book’s greatest success. Besides, it makes for an absorbing read.