The Unknown Bridesmaid
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A child psychologist struggles to come to grips with her own dark childhood memories, in this “mesmerizing, unsettling novel” (The New York Times).
When eight-year-old Julia was asked to be a bridesmaid at her cousin’s wedding, she was thrilled. Nothing, not even her mother’s resentment of the expensive, inconvenient traveling, could dull her excitement. But when the day finally arrived and she took her cousin’s baby on a secret stroll around the block in his pram, her entire world shifted. She couldn’t possibly know the impact the fateful trip would have on her future.
A lifetime later, Julia is a child psychologist working with young girls at risk. In her sessions, Julia has a knack for determining which of her young patients are truly troubled, and which are simply at the mercy of the oppressive adults around them. In this quietly powerful story of the relationship between past and current reality, Julia’s own troubled childhood begins to invade her present, and she is forced to confront the events of that day—and discover whether the truth about her past, and her guilt, is as devastating as she has always feared.
“The book it most reminded me of was Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending. There is the same sense of psychological detective story, of piecing together the fragments of an unresolved past.” —The Guardian
“A gripping read.” —The Observer
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With integrity and insight, Forster (Georgy Girl) portrays a London child psychologist whose painful past won't let her go. Julia learned early in life from her mother, who never shared the mystery of her absent father, that secrecy is a helpful "policy of self-protection." So lying came easily for young Julia when adults questioned her about a fateful, terrible afternoon. Julia's story begins as an eight-year-old bridesmaid for her cousin, Iris, whose joy was shortlived with her new husband. Happiness returns to the family when Iris becomes a mother. Entrusted with Iris's newborn, Julia secretly takes the baby for a forbidden walk, but the pram tips on its side by accident. Julia never divulges her secret walk, setting in motion the guilt that will define much of her life. More unhappiness is to come, and by high school, Julia is miserable, living with Iris's young family; she becomes adept at lying, cheating, stealing, and terrorizing them. Julia leaves for college, severing ties with her relatives. Years pass, and Julia becomes well-known for her work with troubled girls dialogue from her patient sessions alternates with scenes of her childhood. Julia's youthful indiscretions do not hold her back professionally, yet she longs for forgiveness. In the end, a stranger inadvertently provides the impetus, leading to a life-changing decision. Forster's complicated portrait is affecting and memorable.
