"The Hand That First Held Mine"

"The Hand That First Held Mine" (Houghton Mifflin, 2010), by the English writer Maggie O'Farrell, tells two stories in alternating chapters. Each story is compelling in and of itself, but the gradual convergence of the two is a masterpiece of storytelling. O'Farrell achieves this feat without pyrotechnics, without seeming gimmicky, and with a purposeful lack of hyped-up suspense; in fact, at certain points she explicitly announces future events, as if to say "This novel isn't about the suspense; it's about how I take you there." The first story takes place in the 1950s and focuses on Lexy, a fiercely self-made and independent young woman during a time period when such independence was not common; Lexie is a journalist/writer/critic. The second story takes place roughly 50 years later; the main character is Elina, an artist. These two characters as well as the other characters (parents, lovers, husbands, friends, co-workers) are exquisitely well portrayed. In both cases, readers can also enjoy the snapshots of the artistic milieu in London. Some of the most powerful portions of the novel are the pictures of the characters' lives as new mothers. Only a mother, as the author is, could immerse us in the piercingly joyful and scarily overwhelming world of the first days and weeks with a newborn. Elina in particular lives in a sort of unreal twilight zone, with the lack of sleep that makes mothers unsure what time of day it is, what is going on in the outside world, and where their own minds are. Also powerful is the portrayal of how childhood events, especially those involving parents, can have a lasting effect on children. This is a beautifully written novel with vivid, original yet somehow familiar characters; I highly recommend it.