Review
by Cathy White
Rating: 5 stars
This
book burrowed deep inside me, stayed with me, gave me nightmares. Fortunately
for me – unlike Jude, who the novel centres around – I woke up from my
nightmares.
Jude
is six years old when she finds her mother dead from an overdose, along with a
note that reads, "Jude, I have gone in search of Adam. I love you
baby."
This
is the last time anyone tells Jude they love her. On Jude’s tragic roundabout,
we trace her childhood as she grows up in a seaside town through the 80s with a
raw vulnerability and a life a world away from sticks of rock, donkey rides,
lycra and legwarmers.
In
Search of Adam is a book without love, about a child without love. The cruelty,
physical and mental abuse Jude receives is so unremittingly relentless you want
to reach into the pages and make it stop. You especially want to reach in and
punch out her neighbour’s brother. Oh, and her dad. And her’s dad’s girlfriend,
Rita. You want to say ‘Hey Jude, take a sad song and make it better’, but the
only thing that could make it better would be for her mum to come home with
Adam. Jude eventually discovers her
mother’s diary where all is revealed but it’s not something Jude had ever
anticipated.
Caroline’s
writing style in this novel isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, as the short,
stilted, child-like sentences echoing the pattern of Jude’s fragmented thoughts
take some getting used to. But. You do get used to it. It. Just takes a bit. Of
time. Caroline’s vibrant writing makes this novel a worthwhile compelling read
and, ultimately, unforgettable.
Cathy White was born in London and in a
previous life held a variety of jobs including legal secretary and literary
agent’s assistant. In 2009, she left the city for the sticks, emigrating to the
Kent countryside where she lives in an 18th century ex-bakery with
her boyfriend and cat. She blogs at www.cathywhite.co.uk, www.jog-blog.co.uk and www.planetveggie.co.uk.
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