A powerful trauma narrative where we see in fragmented kaleidoscopic chapters called “then”, “after” and “before “ how the past echoes down through the generations. Hannah, an Australian, is living in South London and coming to terms with the sudden death of her boyfriend. As a ghost he observes her, providing an element of comedy in what is a relentlessly somber novel.
I can’t say I “enjoyed” The Echoes, but there are so many hints and images the reader doesn’t understand, you have to keep reading to find out. Eventually there are moments of understanding when a later scene reveals what had been a mystery and you find yourself thinking “Ah! That’s why she makes so many cups of coffee and doesn’t drink them”.
Evie Wyld has written another compelling novel which left me thinking how the legacy of colonialism still casts a dark shadow on so many lives.
Ali Thurm 