Book Review – Girl A by Abigail Dean
First published, 2021
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
And it’s been simply ages since I posted a book review. I promised myself at New Year I’d get better at updating this blog regularly so, oops. So, how’ve you been?
I got caught up in Anna Karenina for weeks only to find I was barely a third of the way through so I’ve put that back on the shelf for a while. No hate, please. I just couldn’t deal with a grown man being proud of mowing his own meadow for six pages so I gave up.
And then I found this book, Girl A, which had been sitting in a pile, waiting for me for two years. I should have found it earlier.
The story follows Lex, a survivor from a family home of abuse. Having been starved and shackled along with many of her siblings, Lex effects an escape and saves her brothers and sisters, but that’s only the beginning. Now an adult, Lex’s tumultuous life has to be put on hold when her mother dies in prison and names her executor of the estate. However, in order to create something positive out of the wretched family home, Lex must get in touch with her siblings─many of whom are no longer in contact, and some of whom don’t remember things the way she does.
A thrilling read about a harrowing story. The fact that this novel has some basis in reality (see the Turpin House of Horrors) should make for a complex read and, arguably, some questionable writing. However, the narrative is handled with deft precision. Our protagonist does not try to sugar-coat what happened, nor does she give it a salacious, tabloid edge. She simply states, and the reader has no choice but to react.
I devoured this book. The characters are exquisitely drawn and I loved that I could recognise them from their child-selves into their adult incarnations. The subject matter is difficult. No one’s pretending it isn’t. But it’s a great novel. Must read.
Petrina Binney - Author 