I was delighted when I spotted a new Evie Wyld on NetGalley but less so when I read the blurb which mentioned a ghost watching his girlfriend grieving his death, the kind of device which sets off alarm bells for me. Set across several timelines and two continents, The Echoes unfolds Hannah’s story, revealing what lies behind her reluctance to talk to Max about her Australian family let alone introduce him to them.
They had to think of the many, not the few, they had to look at the successes, the girls who made it as housekeepers and some even wives to the men who didn’t mind it, to churn out babies with lighter skins than themselves.
Hannah’s parents had bought a patch of land in the grounds of a boarding school to which young indigenous girls were brought against their families’ will. It was a brutal place, cruel punishments inflicted on girls who suffered ‘developmental regulations’ to make them acceptable to white people. Hannah and her rebellious sister grew up as outsiders, tainted by association with The Echoes. Their mother was a runaway, fleeing an alcoholic, abusive mother with her brother even more damaged than her. Anthony took up residence in the camper van next to the family’s house, frequently drunk and in trouble. Hannah came to London to escape, obsessed with the photograph she rescued from the trash which showed her grandmother outside a house just two streets away from where she and Max bought an apartment. They’ve been together for six years, Max contemplating a proposal and the hopes of a child, when he dies suddenly. As Hannah grieves, Max looks on discovering far more about his beloved in death than he knew in life.
I had two feelings simultaneously, an ache that almost brings tears to my eyes and a flood of relief that I am not where Jayney is and thinking about the now of being a mother.
Alternating between three narrative strands – Max’s observations, their life together before he died and Hannah’s Australian childhood – Wyld tells her story, so that we, and Max, slowly come to understand why Hannah is so taciturn about her past, finding it impossible to escape its burden despite her often self-destructive efforts. You can see why my initial enthusiasm might have been tempered at the idea of a dead narrator but don’t be put off if, like me, narration from the grave feels like a step too far. It’s a risky device, but it works, perhaps because Wyld has laced Max’s strand with a light humour in contrast with Hannah’s much darker narrative through which themes of colonialism and abuse are woven. An engaging, unorthodox love story which I’d expected to see it on the Booker longlist.
Jonathan Cape London 9781911214403 240 pages Hardback (read via NetGalley)
OK, well then, I suppose I must give it a go. But the premise had me running for the hills.
Believe me, I understand!
This book sounds interesting and complex. Reminds me of other books I have read where ghosts are floating around. Such as Alice Sebold’s The Lonely Bones and Lorrie Moore’s recent I am Homeless If This is Not My Home.
I remember The Lonely Bones but haven’t yet read the Moore. Did it work for you?
Yes I really liked Moore’s book, but then I am a big fan of hers. It was a life affirming story, but you need to suspend belief somewhat!
I intend to give it a try!
I also liked this a lot. Unlike you, I was sold on this because of the ghost, and he was less of a presence in the story than I’d expected, but it still worked for me.
I have bad memories of The Lovely Bones! Wyld used it well here though.
Oh no, I hated The Lovely Bones too! It really isn’t representative of this kind of fiction.
Any recommendations?
I can’t think of anything quite like The Echoes, but George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo, Ali Smith’s Hotel World and Louise Doughty’s Platform Seven all use ghost narrators well!
Ah, I didn’t get on with the Saunders although I liked his short stories, but did enjoy Hotel World. Must have forgotten about the ghost! Thanks for the Doughty suggestion. I’ll give it a try.
I really like Evie Wyld so I’d always be keen to read this, but like you I’m not keen on the premise of a ghost. I’m pleased to hear it works overall!
I was very wary of that but I can see it’s a clever device if used well and she does.
After I heard about (not read) a book narrated by a skeleton, a ghost seems quite pleasant as a narrator. But jokes aside, this does seem interesting and I’m glad it was a worthwhile read despite the choice of narrator.
Blimey! That really is a step too far.
I think I can imagine how the ghost might work here; I’ve read some similar stories that emphasize ancestral power in a rather different way than those we term ‘ghost stories’. I think I’m uptodate with Wyld, beforehand, so I should find a copy of this one too.
She uses it well to emphasise how much Hannah has kept from Max, and how little he knew her as a result. If you’re a Wyld fan, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one. You sound more open to the device than I was, too.
I haven’t read any Evie Wyld though she’s a name that tempts me. Laura thought that this might be a good place to start. The movie Ghost I abhorred for its relentlessly cynical manipulation, but this sounds like the kind of ghost I could live with!
I know Laura is a keen fan of this one. Max’s narrative has some humour running through it. It’s a device for understanding Hannah rather than a crude piece of emotional manipulation.