5/27/2023 0 Comments The strays bitto![]() ![]() But what seems Edenic to Lily becomes increasingly problematic for the Trentham daughters, particularly the youngest, Heloise, whose emotional struggles no one takes seriously until too late. Meanwhile Lily and Eva develop an intensely close friendship author Bitto is particularly strong at portraying “the depth of intimacy in that first chaste trial marriage between girls.” Drawn to the atmosphere of “carefree detachment” in which Helena and Evan raise their children-Evan unselfconsciously naked much of the time, Helena paying erratic attention to basic needs like food on the table-Lily yearns to be part of the family, not just a friend or guest. Soon other young artists move in as the Trenthams experiment in creating a free-spirited bohemian utopia. Entranced by Eva but also her glamorous mother, Helena, and painter father, Evan, who don’t mind flouting convention, Lily is soon spending as much time as she can at their estatelike home, which has belonged to Helena’s family for generations. Narrator Lily is the 8-year-old only child of overprotective parents struggling their way through the Depression when she meets Eva Trentham and her two sisters, Bea and Heloise, at her new school. ![]() ![]() A first novel from Australia about an artist and his wealthy wife living with their three daughters on the creative edge in hidebound 1930s Melbourne. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |