The hand that first held mine

I love composite titles whose meanings are revealed by the conclusion of the novel. Maggie O'Farrell is good at this; her previous novel was The vanishing act of Esme Lennox .

In The hand that once held mine two stories run parallel to each other finally converging to make sense of all the previous problems and misunderstandings. Admittedly I was aware of the solution before it was actually revealed but I was captivated by way the action developed and the characters interacted and still satisfied by the ending.

At first I thought that the stories were about the two women, Lexie in the Fifties and Elina in the present; in fact the second story is about Ted, Elina's partner and father of her new son. Jonah's birth is the starting point for Ted's reconsideration of his life so far. Lexie is a great character; clever, independent, wise and a wonderful mother. Elina is an inexperienced new mother and she is poignantly drawn. The other characters are well-rounded and credible and along with the plot structure make this novel a compelling read.