Families are a funny thing. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, and never has this been more true than in the story of Abigail Jex (née Onions) and her memories of her childhood friend Frances Radley.
Abigail, when we meet her, is a cellist in an established orchestra and it is not until she attends an after show party and is introduced to Marcus Radley that we start to get a glimpse into the life of this young woman. When she was younger, Abigail was reserved and had few friends. An only child she was serious and had little in common with her peers. Then we are told of her fledgling friendship with the new girl, Frances.
Before we know it Abigail has found herself taken under the wing of this family. She is in awe of Frances’ brother, Marcus (known only as Rad), and finds herself subsumed into the daily lives of the Radley family. As an honorary member of the family she is privy to much of their daily life, but some of the intricacies are lost on her.
While we get to glimpse this family from the outside, we also see into the life of Abigail and her family. Nothing is quite what eleven year old Abigail realised, and we watch as she slowly becomes aware of the shifting nature of her relationships. There are moments of beauty as Abigail observes these colourful characters, never quite realising the significance of some of her interactions. As she grows up and realises how fragile some of these relationships are we watch Abigail mature. The focus really is on Abigail’s shifting relationship to those around her, and though the plot was a little rushed towards the end it had a hopeful quality to it that I found quite endearing.