Children's Hour

Rating:
Summary: entertaining character study
Review: Worried about her mother suffering from Alzheimer's and unable to provide the round the clock caret, Helena asks her aunts Mina and Nest to watch over their sister Georgie until she can be placed in a nursing home. Mina, who would have to be the prime caretaker since Nest is wheelchair bound, agrees. Thus for the first time in years the three sisters live together in the family home Ottercombe in Devon.

Their time together rings out secrets that none want revealed, but Alzheimer's leads to exposure. Each looks back to a serene time of loving family until adultery and betrayal destroyed the camaraderie, but a subsequent car accident nuked it forever or at least until now. Nest lost the ability to walk and a forth sister Henrietta died on that fatal night when quarrels caused by the love of the same man ended fatally. As revelations and feelings surface with Georgie as the catalyst, the trio begin to let go of the past, bit can each one reach out to hug one another.

This entertaining character study focuses on four sisters whose rivalries turned a caring extended family into dysfunctional enemies. Readers get up close look at the incident that destroyed the well-being of everyone involved. Though no action whatsoever even looking back at the pivotal moment, readers will enjoy this gentle breeze with the message that feuds and grudges are harmful while reconciliation and nurturing provide solace.

Harriet Klausner