5 July 2016

Review #479: Unbecoming by Jenny Downham



My rating: 3 of 5 stars


“To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”

----Tia Walker



Jenny Downham, a British novelist, pens an incredibly honest family drama surrounding three generations of women in her new young adult book, Unbecoming that narrates the story of a young teenager who had no idea that she had a grandmother, until the day when her grandmother comes to live with her and her mum, who it seems never ever talked about her, thus opening the floodgates to some painful memories both in the grandmother's as well as in the teenager's mother's past that they have buried deep under piles of happy memories.



Synopsis:

Katie is seventeen and in love with someone whose identity she’s afraid to reveal.

Caroline, Katie’s mother, is uptight, worn out, and about to find the past catching up with her.

Mary, Katie’s grandmother, suffers from Alzheimer’s and suddenly appears after years of mysterious absence.

As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to the grandmother she never knew she had. Rules get broken as allegiances shift. Is Mary contagious? Is “badness” genetic?

In confronting the past, Katie is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love.

Unbecoming is a vivid and exhilarating celebration of life and learning to honor your own story, infused with jenny Downham’s signature warmth, humor, and wisdom.



Mary, an old, Alzheimer suffering lady, has finally gone back to the place where she has forever dreaded to live, her daughter, Caroline's house. Caroline is not at all happy with the fact that her mother, whom she has forever kept as a secret from her children, is coming to live with her and her daughter, Katie and son. Katie is the 17 year old dreamer who is in love with a someone about whom she is afraid to discuss about, especially with her mother, and now that her grandmother, who never existed, suddenly shows up at her doorstep. And gradually, a sweet and innocent friendship blooms between Mary and Katie, as they learn to trust each other and finally feels comfortable enough to trade their secrets both from past and present among themselves. But it is difficult for Caroline to accept the past of Mary and Katie's present day affairs?

It is possible to carve out a family drama full of emotional tug-of-war without any dramatic undertone or sentiments or cliched feelings? Well I believe its hardly possible as without drama, family drama cannot be supported, but Jenny Downham made that possible by inflicting lesser overripe scenes to narrate this family drama. The author has penned an emotionally wrecking story about three women between whom there is only one thing, cold war and silently hating one another. The author has also depicted some modern day issues like lesbianism and Alzheimer's disease into her story line quite sensitively and effectively as the readers are left to ponder about those subjects after the end of the story.

The writing style of the author is okay, but not that strong enough. The narrative constantly shifts from being boring and dull at times to quite interesting and articulate most of the times, and the dialogues are very much laced with realism thus making them comprehendable for the readers. The pacing is really slow, as there is so much development and layering and back stories that are unraveled eventually with the progress of the story and not to mention, each and every scene in this book are painted with vividity thus allowing the readers to visualize them right before their eyes.

The characters in this book are both good and bad. Well the bad part is that they all lacked emotional attachments thus failing to connect the readers with them, and the good, or rather say the best part, is that the characters are extremely real. Told from third person POV, there is enough space for the readers to look at or judge the characters with their own perspectives.

Katie is a scared 17-year old teenager, who is not only confused about her sexuality but is also experiencing new and forbidden feelings, which the author has carefully portrayed with enough compassion and understanding through the story. Katie evolves at the end of the book and I believe there the readers will fall for her mature and decisive demeanor. Mary, on the other hand, is the brave old lady, whose past life unfolds through flashbacks where also the readers will be welcomed by the sight of an aggressive, compassionate and determined young lady who is powerful way beyond her tender age and is strong enough to fight for social issues, but an unfortunate tragedy turns her into someone poignant and calm with a hint of her ferocity. Caroline is an annoying control freak, who not only tries to take control over her children's lives but also overprotects them with her concern and security. The supporting characters don;t stand out much in this book.

In a nutshell, this is an emotional family journey into the past and back into the preset day and the major events of each and every other women's lives are somehow connected by an invisible thread to one another, so overall, the book is beguiling and poignant yet at the same time enlightening enough to keep the readers engaged until the very end.


Verdict: A serious family drama that will keep the readers glued.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Jenny Downham (born 1964) is a British novelist and an ex-actor. In her first book, Before I Die, the fictional account of the last few months of a sixteen-year-old girl who has been dying of leukemia for 4 years. The book is told in the first person. The book was acclaimed and was short-listed for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008 Carnegie Medal and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the 2008 Branford Boase Award.
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