How far would you go to belong? Fourteen-year-old Linda lives with her parents in an ex-commune beside a lake in the beautiful, austere backwoods of northern Minnesota. The other girls at school call Linda 'Freak', or 'Commie'. Her parents mostly leave her to her own devices, whilst the other inhabitants have grown up and moved on.
So when the perfect family - mother, father and their little boy, Paul - move into the cabin across the lake, Linda insinuates her way into their orbit. She begins to babysit Paul and feels welcome, that she finally has a place to belong.
Yet something isn't right. Drawn into secrets she doesn't understand, Linda must make a choice. But how can a girl with no real knowledge of the world understand what the consequences will be?
***
[IT'S NOT THAT I NEVER THINK ABOUT PAUL]***
(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 3 January 2017, ebook, 288 pages, Around the Year in 52 Books 2019, a book featured on an NPR best books of the year list, bought from @AmazonKindle)
***
***
I was in tears by the time I reached the end of the book. It's really sort of marvellous. The author uses a non-linear narrative with chapters switching between the past and present and occasional time shifts within individual chapters. I like non-linear narratives and really enjoyed the way the author structured this one. Something quite dark and terrible happens involving Paul and his parents. This is hinted at throughout the book with references to a trial and Paul being ill but I had no real idea what was going on until the last few chapters. This does a great job of creating suspense and made me want to read on. I found it shocking and heart breaking when the author finally reveals Paul's fate, the role of his parents and Linda's part in it all. One of the best books I've read in ages.