The Garnett Girls

4.5★s

The Garnett Girls is the first novel by British author, Georgina Moore. On vacation in Venice, where she (and her mother and sisters) expect William Bradbury will propose, Imogen Garnett finds their stay is not the idyllic one that she's sure her parents had on their honeymoon. And when he asks her, she wavers, doesn't actually say yes, even as her answer is assumed.

It's no wonder that the Garnett girls, Margo and her three daughters, have always been close: after Richard O'Leary left, it was just the four of them, although Margo checked out for a year just then, and twelve-year-old Rachel did a lot of the mothering. Imogen has never had any secrets from Margo, but she hasn't shared an encounter with an apparently sixteen-year-old Venetian boy, or her lack of enthusiasm over her engagement; both pale into insignificance next to her involvement with a self-absorbed member of the cast staging her play.

Meanwhile, Rachel, lawyer, wife of the wonderful Gabe and mother to Hannah and Lizzie, isn't thrilled to have inherited the care of the rundown Isle of Wight family pile, Sandcove, admittedly a great place to raise children but in desperate need of repair and the default venue for the parties Margo loves to throw. Rachel misses living in London and the high-profile legal career she had to give up to have children. But telling that to Gabe, who's been a little distant lately (he's surely not straying?!) on top of what she already has to say won't go down well.

Things between Margo and her youngest daughter, Sasha have been a little fraught: argument, offence or upset seems to be the order of the day when they're together. Margo can't understand why she's so angry all the time. When the family gathers for the engagement party that Imi didn't particularly want, her sisters try to contain Sasha's outbursts, and notice that Sasha's husband, Phil is more than usually out of sorts with his in-laws.

Sasha tries not to upset him, but Phil's need to be in control has grown insidiously, and the only one she can really talk to is the Garnett girls' childhood friend, Jonny. But she has another huge secret that her sisters (probably) and Margo (definitely) aren't going to like.

Margo's affair with Richard, the love of her life, started when she was sixteen and broke her completely when it ended seventeen years later, bringing her into a close unit with her girls, so close there were no secrets. Except, of course, Margo did have secrets, and always flatly refused to talk about Richard. But now, it seems like she'll have no choice.

Will the revelations each of them makes break the family apart, or mend the rifts that have formed and bring them closer?

Moore gives the reader the story of a family that seems to almost be a force of nature; the matriarch larger than life. Her characters are appealing for all their very human flaws and they face challenges that will resonate with many; some make poor choices and the resolution is hopeful but realistic. Moore conveys her setting and era with consummate ease. This is an outstanding debut novel.