Review: This Must Be the Place

Name: This Must be the Place
Author: Maggie O'Farrell
First Published: May 2016
Publisher: Tinder Press

My latest read took me on a journey to deepest Ireland via sunny San Francisco, a forest in Scotland, a yacht sashaying across the Swedish seas and a messy London flat. And that list isn't even exhaustive. The snippet of map on the front cover of This Must Be the Place doesn't lie – these characters like to travel.

I was drawn to Maggie O'Farrell after reading an old Guardian article she wrote about the process of writing. While her baby slept, swaddled in a sling, she would take to the keyboard and type until the young babe awoke. Impressive.

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell, sitting proudly in my armchair

This Must Be the Place pivots around two people. We follow the twists and turns of their lives, both before they meet and afterwards. Daniel is an American linguistics professor. He is kind, loud and flawed. Claudette is a half-French, somewhat reluctant movie star with a stuttering son and a shotgun. When we meet them they are living, together with a handful of children, in a secluded house in rural Ireland at the end of a long track punctuated with security gates.

Things change one day when Daniel hears the voice of someone he used to know through his car radio. He can't help himself – he has to find out what happened to Nicola Janks. He only knew her for a short time twenty years ago, so his newfound mission couldn't possibly upset the present-day apple cart, could it?

I loved following the trails of events in This Must Be the Place, jumping through time zones, globetrotting and witnessing situations through multiple viewpoints – the children, the friends, the lovers. This book is a great example of cause and effect: the life of a character can be altered by an event that happened years ago, in another country, before they were even born. A spooky thought!

Maggie's writing was atmospheric and accessible, and she captures fleeting moments and lingers on them in a way that you don't have time to do in real life. It felt indulgent. I classify this book as one to snuggle up with on the sofa!

This edition is currently on sale in Waterstones if you'd like to add it to your shelf.

Books to Read

The ten books I'd like to read next (and potentially review!)

1. A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

An old and distant relative of mine was Evelyn Waugh's housemaid when he was a boy in Somerset. That's as good a reason as any to start reading his books!

2. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favelli

This is technically a children's book, but it just sounds so fab.

3. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

This literary stalwart set in the USA's deep south in the 1930s has been on my radar for years. I've been building up to it and think I'm ready...

4. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

I am unashamedly judging this book by its cover. Just look at that shine!

5. Les Parisiennes by Anne Sebba

So many wonderful and inspirational women lived in Paris during Nazi occupation - fashion designers, spies, novelists, racing drivers - and this book tells their true stories.

6. Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

This one has been on the Christmas list for years. Will 2017 be the year, Father C?

7. The Madonna of the Mountains by Elise Valmorbida

I rubbed shoulders with Elise in her wonderful creative writing class a couple of years ago. Am so excited to read her epic sweep of a novel when it comes out in 2018.

8. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

As a big Potter fan I have utter faith in J.K.'s talents.

9. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

This sequel to one of my favourite books, Life After Life, promises to reveal what happened to the world's loveliest character, Teddy. I'm borrowing this one from Mum so will have to read it quick.

10. Changing my Mind by Zadie Smith

I like changing my mind too, so I think I'll get on well with Zadie's essays on her influences and inspirations.