Annie Barrows - The Truth According To Us

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A delight

I enjoyed this book enormously. I didn't really expect to like it from the description - a family's story of secrets and relationships set in small-town, Depression-ear West Virginia didn't entice, and nor did the unimaginative title. However, I loved The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, and I thought that If Roman Clodia liked this that much (do read her review here) then I'd give it a chance - and I'm extremely glad I did.

Anything I add to the plot summary on this page would give away more than I'd have wanted to know myself - and anyway, the plot is only one aspect of what makes this so good. There are developing stories which held me in tightly, including one climactic confrontation scene which was absolutely riveting and left me with a pounding pulse and lots to think about, but the real point of this book is the characters, their interaction with each other and the setting. All are beautifully done, and Annie Barrows has created something quite special here.

The story is told in three voices: in that of Willa, a bright and literate twelve-year-old who reminded me a little of an older version of Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, in letters between characters and in a third-person authorial narrative. I found the juxtaposition of these a little awkward at times, but it's all so well done that I didn't really mind. Barrows creates a thoroughly convincing sense of time and place and draws a wonderful cast of diverse characters. The prose is excellent; it is readable and unfussy while being very descriptive and often quietly penetrating, like this description:
"Mrs. Lacey was terribly old, frighteningly old, slumped with time, knotted and lined and half belonging to another world. Jottie had called her "the last of the great ladies" and Layla saw what she meant. There was something monumental about her, a dignity of endurance, of being the only one left."  I found the whole thing, even at nearly 500 pages, a pleasure to read.

There are noticeable parallels with The Guernsey Literary... in the set-up, structure and some of the plot ingredients, which means that readers may be able to see pretty early on where some stories and characters are heading, but that was just fine by me, and Barrows has the integrity and intelligence not to tie everything up as neatly as you might expect. As well as being witty, charming and involving, it's a genuinely thoughtful book with important things to say about fulfilment, trust, integrity, and generosity of spirit.

My only complaint about this book is that, as a decades-long admirer of Eric Clapton, a central character called Layla meant that I have had a certain song in my head as an earworm for days and days now. I can live with it, though, and if you can, too, I can recommend this very warmly; I found it a delight.