by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Hardback, £16.99
This wonderful novel begins with Erica, who is about to start university, taking a trip to Paris in the summer of 1978. There she meets Laure, who is a few years older and draws Erica in with her cool demeanour and air of grubbiness. Hargrave lays out the ways Erica and Laure weave into and out of each other’s lives over the next decades, and the result is heart-wrenching, infuriating, and deeply enjoyable to read.
The novel is split into four parts, and each one unravels a new era in the characters’ lives. This four-part structure made the book feel weighty and meaningful. I was desperate to find out what choices Erica and Laure would make at each stage, and Hargrave’s searing descriptions of longing and grief made me smile and wince in equal measure. Her writing is soaked in romance and full of feeling but in a completely down-to-earth way: she sometimes uses quite high-register language, but it all fits in perfectly and suits the settings. Erica and Laure feel everything very intensely but there is also an edge of self-deprecation and acceptance of how life turns out. The book had just the right balance of serious and light; it is raw and dramatic, but also has a gentle humour and softness about it.
Hargrave wrote the first draft of this novel in six weeks, and the intensity and richness of the finished book reflects this. If you enjoy books about queer entanglements, the twists and turns of life, and the cliché of falling in love in Paris, then you will not regret picking this up!
Review by Jamie