A powerful novel
5 stars
My partner's daughter recommended The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox to us months before I actually bought it and it was another book that sat unread on my Kindle when I should have gotten to it far sooner!
The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox is a short, but powerful novel which examines definitions of madness and the terrible treatment meted out to socially embarrassing women not so many years ago. Euphemia Esme Lennox was born in India six years after her older sister Kitty. An 'odd' child, Esme doesn't conform to social norms which exasperates her mother. She displays such outrageous notions as using her imagination and sees nothing wrong with walking around barefoot! Unbelievable behaviour! When the family return to repressed Edinburgh Society after a disastrous experience in India (I won't say what happens!) Esme's strangeness appears even more pronounced, leading her family to believe that 'something' must be …
My partner's daughter recommended The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox to us months before I actually bought it and it was another book that sat unread on my Kindle when I should have gotten to it far sooner!
The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox is a short, but powerful novel which examines definitions of madness and the terrible treatment meted out to socially embarrassing women not so many years ago. Euphemia Esme Lennox was born in India six years after her older sister Kitty. An 'odd' child, Esme doesn't conform to social norms which exasperates her mother. She displays such outrageous notions as using her imagination and sees nothing wrong with walking around barefoot! Unbelievable behaviour! When the family return to repressed Edinburgh Society after a disastrous experience in India (I won't say what happens!) Esme's strangeness appears even more pronounced, leading her family to believe that 'something' must be done. Sixty years later, great-niece Iris suddenly discovers Esme's existence when her asylum is due for closure. Iris is summoned to the rescue of this now-elderly woman who had been completely erased from family memory.
I loved the characters in this book. O'Farrell manages to convey so much emotion and understanding through relatively simple prose and I felt that I came to know everyone in this tragic tale well. I was horrified to realise that, while not a true story in itself, the situation portrayed in The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox was disturbingly common up to at least the middle of the last century, affecting hundreds of British women. Especially upsetting to me was the hospital staff calling for 'Euphemia'. Even something as basic as Esme's preferred name has been completely ignored for six decades! And the big question of whether she is, or was, insane is cleverly answered by contrasting scenes from Esme's point of view with insights into the thoughts of now-Alzheimer's ridden Kitty. Fabulous writing!
While not actually a depressing novel to read, I came away from it feeling shocked and saddened. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will definitely be seeking out more of O'Farrell's writing.