Is family defined by genealogy or by the bonds we create?
In Kate Morton’s latest novel Homecoming, Jess is called back to Sydney after 20 years’ working as a journalist in London after Nora, her much-loved grandmother, has a fall and is admitted to hospital.
Jess’s own life and career are at a pivotal point and she is struggling to find her way forward.
Estranged from her mother, Jess was raised by Nora, whose fall and agitated words at the hospital lead Jess to search out her family history.
Finding a book about the death of a mother and three of her four children decades before, Jess discovers a long-hidden family secret.
Her childhood memories take on a different hue as she pieces together facts from the book while unravelling and re-examining what she had been told.
Shifting narrators from the present to the past and between Nora, Jess and her mother Polly shows how the perception of someone’s actions may differ from their intentions. As with almost all relationship conflicts, communication is an issue.
The cause of the 1959 deaths had never been found and Jess takes it upon herself to find out how it happened.
Secrets, best intentions and lack of courage make for an absorbing tale of family love and loss.
Reviewed by Julie Asher
