M for Mammy

I think this is one where I may well be out of step with popular opinion; I found it to be a sad read, and at times struggled to get through to the end. All about the lives of the Augustts; Da, Mammy, Jenny and Jacob. The are not without their problems but, as families do, they muddle through. Then Mammy suffers from a bout of ill health and the rest of them are left struggling like a rudderless ship. Granny Mae-Anne decides that the only answer is for her to move in and look after both children – and she is a force to be reckoned with. This novel reveals the innermost thoughts of Jenny and Jacob, whilst following Annette in her long road to recovery. As with any child who cares for a younger sibling, Jenny is old beyond her years and isn’t sure about things Granny does differently from Mammy. Da and Granny don’t exactly hit it off, adding to the confusion. There is so much reading in this one, I found the narrative to go on and on, and I lost focus more than once, but I kept going to the final page. In all honesty, I can’t say I loved it, finding it to be a sad and heart-breaking story. It was an okay read, and I’m really not sure I would go any further than that, sadly. I cannot complete my review without mentioning the glaring error relating to Thomas the Tank Engine’s friends. Anyone who, like me, has raised two children as big fans and who are now raising theirs with the same love of these characters, knows that Gordon is – like Thomas – blue, and not green (like Henry)!!