"A heart-tearing, character-driven page-turner about a troubled family, losing and finding one’s way, and the cycle of life."
Utterly engaging, Zoe Coyle’s Where the Light Gets In debut follows the tumultuous story of a young woman haunted by childhood tragedy, the cold cruelty of her father, and the agonising request of her dying mother. Exploring the extremes of grief and guilt, and how might we turn to extreme measures in our attempt to find peace, it’s also a story of love, friendship and unbreakable bonds.
As Delphi lands her ideal job assisting an esteemed artist in London, her dying mother tells her its time – her terminal degenerative brain disease has reached the point that she’s ready to die, and she wants Delphi to be there when she self-euthanises.
After making the long journey to Tasmania, the euthanasia goes wrong - Delphi’s mother survives, and the police suspect she was involved. As a result, her mother tells her to return to London, leaving her estranged brother to take up the mantle.
Reeling from the experience, and knowing it’s only a matter of time before her mother dies, Delphi flounders in no man’s land, though her wonderful godfather and strangers offer solace, such as the man in a Hampstead Heath pub who sagely tells her that “grief can build a cathedral inside us. A place of immense wisdom and empathy, of perspective and gratitude…Don’t be afraid. Death is inevitable. It’s the “Great Return”. We are all just walking each other home.”
This highly readable novel is peppered with such moments of calm kindness as Delphi receives more unexpected news and further upends her life, before rebirth and healing eventually come.
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
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