Beth has forgotten the core truth of her own life. In a cruel move, her dead mother is about to remind her. A wise and ultimately warm-hearted story about self-discovery, family and community for readers of Tricia Stringer and Liz Byrski.
Since adolescence, 58-year-old Beth has lived her life with blinkers on, repressing the memory of a teenage trauma. Her mother, Marian, took control of that situation, and of all else in their family life – and as much as she could in the small town of Miner’s Ridge as well.
Now Marian is dead, and Beth, unemployed and in the middle of a humiliating divorce, is living with her gentle-hearted father in the family home. Beth feels obliged to take over her mother’s involvement in the local town hall committee, which becomes a source of new friendships, old friendships renewed, and a considerable amount of aggravation.
Researching town hall history, Beth finds photographs that show Marian in a surprising light; sorting through Marian’s belongings, she realises that her mother has left a trail of landmines, cruel revelations that knock the feet out from under her supposed nearest and dearest. Beth struggles to emerge from the ensuing emotional chaos… in middle age, can she really start anew?
A deeply felt, acutely observed novel about mothers and children, about what people hide from themselves and each other, about the richness and difficulties of community, and about becoming your own person.
Meredith Appleyard excels at writing novels about family and the complexities of small country communities. Her previous two novels, When Grace Went Away and All About Ella, were embraced by BR readers. Becoming Beth ensures her place among our favourite women’s fiction writers. This keenly observed story is everything that is great about excellent women-centred fiction. It’s complex, multi-layered and told with great heart and authenticity.
Appleyard’s prose is polished, and the story gently unfolds, allowing the reader time to truly connect with the characters, particularly Beth and her lovely Dad. Beth is living with her father, Alan, after the death of her mother. She’s had a difficult year, not only losing her mother, but also dealing with a complicated divorce, and the loss of her home and her job. At fifty-eight, where does she go from here? Beth is a truly likable protagonist, and there is stability in being with her father, and Appleyard sets that up well. This is a slowly told story, but that doesn’t mean boring. It’s rich with characterisation, daily life and humanity. It is beautifully written, with a quiet tension that builds, as the revelations begin to unfold, and Beth is forced to confront her past.
There is great comfort to be found in a Meredith Appleyard novel. In our fast-paced world, Becoming Beth is a glorious mini-break. I didn’t want it to end.
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