I think we're all a bit guilty of getting aggravated in our busy modern lives at people that can't quite keep up, but this book has thrown a whole new light onto my perspective. To say it tugged on the heartstrings is a bit of an understatement. I have read novels before which deal with the issue of dementia, but never from the perspective of the person suffering themselves. Getting into the mindset of Maud was incredibly eye opening, and you can rest assured that once you've read this, you won't roll your eyes at an elderly relative when they forget your name again!
Maud can't quite seem to keep a hold on all of her thoughts. They seem to come and go before she can grab a hold of them or verbalise them. So, she starts to write ideas down on notes. When she continues to come across ones she has written stating that "Elizabeth is missing", she becomes increasingly concerned about the whereabouts of her dear friend Elizabeth. With her daughter Helen, granddaughter Katy and Elizabeth's son Peter ignoring her concern she becomes more and more desperate to discover what happened.
However, old memories mingle with new, and Maud begins to think more and more about the disappearance of her sister Sukey. As she reminisces over her teenage years growing up in post-war Britain, the reader is introduced to the idea that there may be more than one mystery contained in this novel ...
I have read a few good reviews of Emma Healey's Elizabeth is Missing from fellow book bloggers, so I was expecting to be impressed. I was not disappointed either. The narrative of this text was so impressive and believable that I came away feeling as though I had an understanding of what it is to be so utterly lost inside one's own head, and how terrifying that can be. As well as mixing non-sense with sense in Maud's life, Healey effortlessly combined past with present through Maud's recollection of the mystery surrounding her sister's disappearance.
Have you read it? What did you think?
Steph x
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