Awards
Longlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize
Synopses & Reviews
Short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2003, this absorbing, beautifully written, and perceptive novel perfectly captures the complexity of memory and the dynamics of family life When an innocent trip to see the play Peter Pan gives Kitty's four brothers an excuse to deny her access to her much-loved nieces, she finds herself in a skewed, vividly colored world where children become emblems of hope, longing, and grief. Still reeling from the loss of her own child that never was, Kitty is suddenly made shockingly aware of the real reason for her pervasive sense of non-existence. Suddenly, her family's oddness, the secrets of her mothers life and death, and the disappearance of her sister come into a startling new focusone that leaves Kitty struggling to find own identity.
Review
"A heartbreaking and accomplished debut." Bookseller
Review
"An extremely good first novel: deceptively simple, subtly observed, with a plot that drags you forward like a strong current." Daily Mail
Review
"Fresh, frightening and raw. Theres nothing in the least depressing about this nevertheless sad story, certainly nothing remotely sentimental." Margaret Forster
Synopsis
Clare Morall deals with the dynamics of motherless family life and in synaesthesia.
Synopsis
Caught in an over-vivid world because of her synaesthesia (feelings are experienced as colors), Kitty feels haunted by her "child that never was." As children all around become emblems of hope, longing, and grief, she begins to understand the reasons for her shaky sense of self.
What family mystery makes her four brothers so vague about her mother's life, who died when she was three? Why does Dad splash paint on canvas rather than answer his daughter's questions? On the edges of her dreams, Kitty glimpses the kaleidoscope van that took her sister Dinah away is it a link to her indistinct childhood?
About the Author
Clare Morrall is coauthor of A Booker Prize Trio and author of The Language of Others.