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| www.amazon.com |
Nina is an accomplished artist who lives in North London with her successful second husband and her teenage daughter from her first marriage. Nina comes from money and is a member of the artistic aristocracy thanks to her father’s achievements as a composer. Nina’s narrative hints at a less than happy childhood as her father’s initially subtle womanizing became more and more visible and embarrassing to herself and humiliating for her mother.
Nina recalls being a teenager of less than average looks whose free time revolved around her art, trips to art galleries and hanging out with similarly artistic and earnest girlfriends. The adult Nina, though, is elegant and poised. If there is one thorn in her subtly luxurious life, it her daughter Sophie who she feels is growing further away from her.
Emma, on the other hand, has had nothing but sun shine over her life. A striking teenager with glowing tan to her long limbs and the kiss of the sun to her blonde hair, she was everything in her youth that she currently is not. A freelance television producer in a previous life (before the children), Emma’s days are now spent on the rewarding but grimly relentless grind of being a stay at home mother of two young children in a home where the one income budget is worryingly stretched. The highlights of her year now include painful weekends staying with her cashed up in-laws (during which she is irrationally grateful for her glass of sherry after dinner and also angry that her husband refuses to accept the financial assistance her brash father in law offers) and short trips out of the house with the little ones in the pram.
A ‘chance’ encounter at the grocer’s sees Nina come into possession of Emma’s purse. Which then leads to Nina visiting Emma to return said purse. A kind of friendship develops between the two very different women. Emma revels in the attention of her helpful and generous friend but, at first, it’s hard to see what Nina ‘gains’ from the friendship except opportunities to be at very close range to Emma’s house and her children. Which, as it turns out, is what Nina wanted all along.
Harriet Lane writes an absorbing and chillingly suspenseful novel. She creates the building sense of quiet menace behind Nina’s good Samaritan actions so skilfully that you can feel the tension against your skin as her words tighten their grip on you. The abrupt ending I alluded to at the beginning of this review serving to heighten the thrill of Nina’s chase as Emma finally crystallises the fragmented scraps of memories she has of Nina from all those years ago.
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| Skinnies – J Brand, trainers – Nike. |
From domestic noir to off duty high top noir. I am loving these Sky Hi Dunks of mine. Loving them sick. They’ve given collection of skinny jeans and jeggings a new lease of life. And they’ve also made me order some new jeggings from Next as well (more about them when they arrive next week).
Thanks to Cotton On, my new and improved (and vaguely on trend) off duty mum look can still have its trackies and wear them too. I found these skinny legged track pants for $20 yesterday and they do not look as disastrous on my nearly forty self as they could have.
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| Scarf and ring – Hermes, cardigan – Target. |
Perhaps the answer to this question will be seeing what mum to be Michelle Bridges (and fellow member of the mum of a little one in her forties) wears later this year when her baby arrives. I’d better keep my Who subscription going in order to find out.
It’s not that I actually have that much time to be philosophising over my off duty wardrobe options. Not when I’ve got a toddler to feed. It’s not often that I have a success story in that arena these days so when I do, I’m sorry, but the blog has to know about it. Toddler SSG loves cheese jaffles. Butter, cheese and white bread with hidden fibre? It ticks most of my boxes right there.
The Aldi jaffle machine has been a breeze to use and maintain. I oiled it once prior to use and so far, it’s wiped clean after each jaffle I’ve made on it. Even the oozy, cheesy bits that seeped out from the edge of the crustless bread I used.
As for me?
I’m loving cabbage tossed in the wok with some garlic, chicken stock and a dash of soya sauce. It’s such a simple vegetable side dish to prepare but so very satisfying at this time of the year.