The Children - Melissa Albert

THE CHILDREN

MELISSA ALBERT

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Their childhood was yours. They want it back . . .

Guinevere’s late mother, Edith Sharpe, needs little introduction. Bestselling author of the unendingly successful Ninth City series, her books brought so much joy and inspired the imagination of countless children the world over. Guin’s childhood with her mother, brother Ennis and her actor father was a blissful, bohemian affair, filled with continuous laughter and surrounded by artistic types in their Vermont barnhouse. At least, this is the story Guin presents as she prepares for the press tour for her upcoming memoir about life in the Sharpe family.

Now estranged from her brother and her parents long dead after a devastating fire, strange events threaten the veneer of serenity and familial harmony Guin is keen to project. Ennis, now a notorious artist with a troubled past, announces a new installation – his first since a disastrous last show one year prior – simply entitled Mother. And Guin can’t help but worry that the truth behind their idyllic childhood is about to blow her world apart.

Told in alternating narratives between 1990s Vermont and present-day New York, The Children is a twisting narrative of family secrets and long-held resentments, which asks whether we can ever really exorcise the ghosts of a childhood forsaken in favour of a parent’s artistic vision.

MY REVIEW

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The Children focuses on Guin, the daughter of a best-selling fantasy author who died before she could finish her series. As Guin brings out a memoir about her childhood, her estranged brother unveils an art installation entitled ‘Mother’. As memories of the past begin to resurface, can Guin keep it together?

I was excited about the premise of The Children – I was expecting a blend of fantasy and gritty realism. The chapters alternate between Guin in the present day with a countdown to her brother’s art installation, and Guin as a child living with her dysfunctional family in a large rural farmhouse. I was constantly expecting something big to happen throughout - there’s a real sense of unease that runs underneath, as well as asides from her mother’s fantasy series. However, rather than this helping to keep the pace high, it seemed to highlight how slow paced it was and I felt it dragged. I found that neither of the timelines were keeping my interest and the countdown to the art installation reinforced this, as 4 days took nearly the entire narrative to get through.

One of my other issues with the book is a lack of relatable characters. Guin is cold and mysterious, which is a side-effect from her childhood, but it would have been good to have someone warmer to contrast her and give the reader someone to latch on to. Her family and all of the odd characters that visited the farmhouse are all introduced through Guin’s lens and so we don’t really get a chance to get to know them past their stereotypes.

The ending of The Children tried to ramp up the pace with a supernatural twist that left me confused. There are no hints to anything for the reveal to make me able to throw back and think about signposts earlier in the narrative. It would have more gripping if this had been seamlessly interwoven into the flashbacks.

Overall, The Children is an interesting premise, but I found it very slow-paced with an ending which seemingly came out of nowhere. Thank you to NetGalley & Bloomsbury Publishing for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LINKS TO BUY

Amazon UK

Waterstones