Fred Scully can't wait to see his wife and daughter. He's got a new life for them all worked out. He's sweated on this reunion. The doors at the airport hiss open. Scully's life falls apart...

The destructive and redemptive powers of love are the focus of this new novel by Winton. Fred Scully has gone to Ireland, where he is restoring a dilapidated cottage and waiting for Jennifer, his wife, and their seven-year-old daughter, Billie, to arrive from Australia. But on the appointed day, Billie arrives without her mother, too traumatized to explain what happened during their last stop at Heathrow. Thus begins a mad search through Greece, Italy, France, and Holland, always just missing the elusive Jennifer. Though action-filled, this is primarily a study of the psychic price paid by an open-hearted man who loves deeply, if not wisely. The novel's strengths lie in its richly detailed settings and in the archetypal fury of its portrait of psychic dissolution.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to HoserLauren in Canada for the NGS.

Received today all the way from Australia from cats for the non-genre swap.
Looks good, it's a book I've had my eye on for a while. Thanks! :)

Scully moves to Ireland ahead of his expecting wife and child, as they purchased a cottage in Ireland on whim. Scully needs to fix the house up, Jennifer his wife needs to sell their home in Australia. The Irish quickly notice a new person in the area, despite the cottage being rather remote, and Scully makes friends with Pete-the-Post who delivers his mail but also helps him with odd jobs. Pete delivers a telegram informing Scully that Jennifer has sold the house and she's coming with Billie on Sunday.

Sunday arrives and Scully travels to the airport to pick up his family but only Billie arrives. She refuses to talk about what's happened so they wait, expecting Jennifer on another plane but she never comes. Scully is determined to figure out what happened and travels across Europe with his daughter to find Jennifer.

Through Greece, Paris, and Amsterdam, we learn about Scully and Jennifer's background. Jennifer had a passion for art but no talent to back it up. Scully worked odd jobs with illegals which made Jennifer's friends look down on him.

I had a love/hate relationship with Scully. At first he seemed rather sensible and like a good dad but then he descended in to something he didn't seem to be. Chasing around Europe with a child, how is that good for your child? Eventually, Billie has to save her father from himself when he should be watching out for her. So many weird things happen to Billie, they all can be tied back to Scully's inability to parent her correctly.

I think this book can best be described as beautiful writing with no plot to back it up. There were times when I was confused about what was going on because the author was so vague in his descriptions as he went for literary beauty over comprehension. The ending left me miffed. There was a lot of build up for a big fizzle out.

Left in the leave one/take one shelf at work.

To the finder of this book: I hope you enjoy reading this book. Please keep it or set it free when you're done. If the book is of no interest to you, please release it into the wild for someone else to find and enjoy. I hope you will make a journal entry so its journey can be tracked and to let me know the book has been found. You can remain anonymous if you wish, but if you join BookCrossing, you are in for a great experience.