In her novel The Past, Tessa Hadley gives us an interesting insight of a contemporary British family. The novel takes place during a reunion of four grown siblings at their deceased grandparents’ rural home.
The reunion involves Harriet, a sensible human rights lawyer, Roland who is there with his third wife, Pilar, and his 16 year-old daughter Molly, their scatter-brained sometimes-actress sister, Alice, and Fran with her two children, a spiteful little girl and her gullible younger brother. Also in the mix is Kasim, the son of Alice’s one-time lover.
The story begins as the family members and their guests arrive. The author does a good job of capturing the essence of their personalities and priorities. One of the purposes of the 3-week visit is to decide what is to be done with the deteriorating home, whether or not it should be put on the market for sale.
The book has three sections: The Present, The Past, and then again The Present. The Past involves Jill, the children’s mother, when she returns to her parents’ home with her three children after she has left her husband. She has a brief affair with a realtor, then agrees to return to her husband, the children’s father.
When the book returns to The Present there are four grown children. The fourth child’s appearance is never directly referred to, but it made my mind whirl. I kept waiting for an explanation. You have to pay attention, but it’s there.
The Past offers an interesting study of family dynamics and how the past shapes and influences our future. I also enjoyed the descriptions of English country-side and customs.