On a sharp winter's morning, a man
turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's lost almost
everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All
he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them.
This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children
who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are
bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph. They slowly
adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...
Thank to the lovely
people at Allen & Unwin I received a review copy of Charity Norman’s new
release, ‘The Son-in-Law.’ I hadn’t read anything by Charity Norman before, and
I am not quite sure whether I would have picked up this novel myself. As
followers of this blog will probably know by now, I am a sucker for romance and
a happy ending, and those are not exactly the ingredients this novel would
appear to offer at first sight. However, one of the most important things about
reading is that you can relatively easily cross your personal borders and pick
up a novel that might not initially be your cup of tea, but it might end up
surprising you. And that is exactly what happened with this novel.
After spending several
years behind prison walls, Joseph Scott is out in the wide world again. The
only thing he cares about is seeing his three children, Scarlet, Theo and Ben, but this won’t be an easy task. Four years ago, Joseph killed his wife
Zoe in a fit of rage, in front of their children. They now live with their
grandparents, Hannah and Frederick, who have no intention of letting Joseph
near his children ever again. When Joseph sees no other option but to take the
case to court, Zoe’s torn family is forcefully reunited, bringing back all
kinds of memories and emotions.
One of the absolute
strengths of this novel is Charity Norman’s writing. After just a few chapters,
I already felt myself being consumed by this story and I couldn’t get it out of
my mind. The characters are incredibly well-written and realistic, just like
the scene setting. I could imagine myself standing in the living room with
them, which only made me feel even more drawn in by the novel. Norman
especially managed to create a feeling of conflict: who of the characters do
you support? There are two main different points of view, and I found myself
switching between the two continually. As a reader you are really brought into
the minds of these characters, and it also shows you everything might not be as
straightforward as it might seem at first sight.
Even though Zoe has
already died quite some time ago at the start of this novel, she takes on a
central role in the story. She was a mother, daughter, and wife, and these
three roles are explored in the form of her children, parents, and husband. I
especially loved the three children, most specifically Scarlet; she is so
clearly torn between two parties, and Norman describes this so incredibly well.
Next to this, I also admired the relationship between Hannah and Frederick;
after everything they’ve gone through, their love is still so strong. I don’t
want to give too much away about what happens in this novel, but the last few chapters
had me with tears streaming down my face, and that is something that doesn’t
happen too often to me when I’m reading! ‘The Son-in-Law’ is an emotional and
realistic novel that will keep you captivated from beginning to ending, and a tale
that reminds you to not forget that there’s always two sides to every story.
Rating:
8,5/10
8,5/10 
