Fred Scully, wife, Jennifer, and young
daughter, Billie have left a settled life in Perth, Australia to tour Europe.
Jennifer has given up a well-paid job in order to give rein to her creative
urge to be a writer, poet, painter or something equally artistic. Scully
accommodates her, taking on casual labouring jobs to put food on the table.
Then on a whim they (or she) decide to buy a rundown bothy they stumble over in
rural Ireland. It is a wreck and while the girls return to Australia to sell up
and settle affairs, Scully knuckles down to making the uninhabitable habitable.
That is where chapter one kicks in as Scully
spends weeks in the cold wet wilderness working and living hard with only the
local postie for company. It’s done by mid-December, but when Scully waits at
Shannon Airport arrivals only Billie, an ‘unaccompanied child’ turns up on the
connecting flight from London. No explanation from the airline and Billie goes
mute on the subject.
Scully is at a loss. Where is Jennifer? Why
has she jumped ship? Through choice or necessity?
To find her and get an explanation or at least
closure, Scully sets off to check out their few contacts in Europe – Greece,
Paris, Amsterdam – dragging Billie along with him. There are adventures and
misadventures; and some hidden truths emerge. Questions are asked though mainly
Scully asking himself did he really know his wife at all.
The trip around Europe, necessarily on a tight
budget, is uncomfortable and hectic; and the writing brings that out in
breathless style. There is also a couple of mystical episodes that have
allegorical significance (and provide the title).
Does Scully track down his missing missus or
find any answers? It is a page turner to the end to find out.
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