Blue Hour (Large Print)

Description

1936: At nineteen, Kitty was ready to leave behind the stifling control of her parents and all those constantly telling her how to live her life. Work at the Wintonvale Repatriation Hospital was her escape and a chance to be someone else. Then she met soldier George Turner - and she heard her mothers voice in her ear, warning of danger, of being that girl. Kitty told herself if she ever had her own daughter shed never control her. Shed make sure her voice never left a mark behind. 1973: Growing up, Eleanors home was strained by sorrow and the echoes of war that silenced her parents. And always her mother, Kittys, bitterness, twisting and poisoning everything she touched. She thought she knew what made her parents this way ... but Eleanor would never know all her mothers secrets. The demands of marriage, motherhood and looking after her daughter while her husband, Leon, is in Vietnam lay claim to Eleanors days. Nature, embracing curiosity and not being like her mother are Eleanors solace. But they are not enough when Leons darkness overwhelms. Both he and her mother leave their mark, and use her child for their own ends. Afraid, unsure and alone, Eleanor will be driven to erase her mothers voice in her head. But the question remains: can she bear the burden of her own secrets? Vivid, deeply affecting and confronting, Blue Hour explores the beauty and violence in the world. Powerfully magnifying the fractures between a mother and a daughter, it reveals the brutal cost when we allow grief and trauma to reach down generations. Without a doubt one of the most thought-provoking novels I have read ... Fans of compelling literary fiction cant go past this - Schmidt is an incredible Australian writer Better Reading Schmidts skill for making readers ponder raw and uncomfortable realities is profound ... This is a mother-daughter story which fills the page with all those parts of womanhood the world does not want you to know about - a hard-to-swallow novel that I urge you to read Readings A brilliant novel that cant help but leave a mark on its readers ... so compelling its hard to look away Herald Sun Praise for Sarah Schmidts See What I Have Done: A cracker The Guardian Eerie and compelling PAULA HAWKINS A major new talent Booklist A Gothic classic The Saturday Paper Remarkable The Telegraph A bloody good read USA Today Utterly compelling Australian Book Review Believe the hype Marie Claire Unforgettable Publishers Weekly