Book Review: "The Hand That First Held Mine" by Maggie O'Farrell

So it isn't as great and intense as The Marriage Portrait and not as emotional as Hamnet, but this book by Maggie O'Farrell is still a fantastic read. Lexie (known first as Alexandra) has been kicked out of university when she meets the older male, Innes Kent who looks on as she attempts to read a book outside whilst he mother screams at her. In another story, Elina has just had a baby and her boyfriend (the father), Ted, isn't being all that helpful but is whiny in a way that seems helpless. Both of these women find themselves stuck in a situation they didn't really create, both are wonderful characters. Maggie O'Farrell's writing is incredible as always and this is yet another addition to her great bibliography.

Lexie meets Innes in the 1950s. She's been booted from university and her story seems to be one foreshadowed with a certain sadness we cannot yet place. The author hints at something waiting but we don't know what. So when she's snatched up and moves to London, she eventually cuts ties with her family and becomes the mistress of the wealthy, older gentleman, Innes Kent. In London, she takes to Soho and despite having very little money, still manages to go out on the town, go out for drinks (this often confuses me. How do people with no money keep socialising in popular and trendy upmarket bars in central London?) and often is seen wearing better clothes than she would before. But there is still an undercurrent of sadness. Innes Kent never really talks about his wife and child and there's a tension there that sees her blamed for the dissolution of his family life - especially where his daughter, Margot, is concerned. Eventually, things come crashing down around her in the most unexpected way and the author writes this as almost an inevitability - as if she was warning us the entire time. And she definitely was.

Alongside this is the story of Elina. Elina has just had a baby boy and hasn't yet named him (though the baby's paternal grandmother seems to think that Rupert is a nice name). Elina is weak and her mind is muddled. It is revealed to us that during the birth of her child, Elina almost died from blood loss and can often no longer even remember that the baby was born. Her boyfriend and the father of her child, Ted, is a man who is underwhelming at best as a partner. He isn't very supportive and spends a lot of time getting frustrated and feeling sorry for his position. When Elina expresses herself, it becomes a moment of inconvenience for him as he gets deep and reflective about the situation rather than actually helping out. His mother is an overbearing presence in their lives which eventually causes their relationship to fall apart and of course, if it goes that far then Elina will definitely be keeping the child she eventually names Jonah. The author pens this relationship as one that failed because of how 'checked out' Ted was from the beginning. Yes, he seems loving but he isn't helpful. He seems kind at times, but he doesn't do anything useful. It is a huge character fault which sends yet another relationship into dissolution.

The writing is brilliant. From the very beginning we get what is an intimate portrait in which we must step into. It is something beautiful and atmospheric. There are intense descriptions of trees and skies, there's the natural world and then, there's the city and it's endless structures. Maggie O'Farrell is known for her great writing technique but here she displays something very artistic. I read The Marriage Portrait back when it came out and was surprised at how intense it was. Unfortunately, this book didn't feel as intense as that one and not nearly really as emotional as Hamnet. But it had its own thing going on.

I would highly recommend this book - especially if you liked the writing style of The Marriage Portrait. There's something really clean about the book but I will have to reduce the marks for it not measuring up to the other two. It stands though, as a brilliant book by comparison to others of this contemporary era of 'social media' novels.