Lindsey Reviews: Quarter past two on a Wednesday afternoon - Linda Newbery

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Review: Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon - Linda Newberry - May 2014

Quarter past two on a Wednesday afternoon is the story of two sisters, Rose and Anna.  Anna lives in the shadow of her older sister who is beautiful, enigmatic  and headstrong.  However, when Rose suddenly disappears on a quarter past two on a hot August afternoon, the life of Anna and her parents is never the same again.   Fast forward twenty years and Anna still has no knowledge of what happened to her sister since her vanishing; not knowing if she is dead or alive. Now in her early 30’s, she lives a chaotic life with no fixed job and living with Martin; a divorced father of two.    Anna finally has the chance of permanence and happiness but the ghost of her sister has never really been laid to rest and Rose’s spectre looms large over Anna. Still overshadowed by her absent sister, Anna is stuck in the past, unable to move forward in her own life.  Realising she cannot progress in her own life till she learns the truth, she decides to re- investigate her sister’s disappearance. Yet as she unravels the mystery to unearth the truth, secrets are brought to light that threaten to destroy the fragile unity which her family have strived for so hard to cling onto.

This was a very powerful and moving book written with so many layers and depth.  It is a book of secrets and how you cannot escape them; however hard you try to run from them.  It explored the themes of guilt and how in only confronting the demons of the past can we move forward with the future.  As the main character, Anna has many flaws;   she has always felt her parents have favoured Rose and inferior to her.  This has impacted on her behaviour in later life whereupon she has issues with commitment, insecurity and stability.  The author uses a time frame in the novel to transpose between the past and the present which gives intensity to the writing and the reader learns much about the seemingly perfect Taverner family’s past, which penetrates the narrative and gives it many twists and turns.

I found this novel to be unusual, insightful and a real reflection on the dysfunctionality of family.  Although it is dark in places, nevertheless, it is ultimately a story of healing and conquering the ghosts of the past, of second chances and the importance of living with the truth, however hard that may be.




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