Blaming (Virago Modern Classics) - Plot & Excerpts
As the cancer inside her developed, so did the determination to finish this book. It was the same determination that she used to fight the illness, remain cheerful, and above all, live to the last moment. This book is about guilt as well as blame. It explores the feelings of bereavement: the anger, helplessness, boredom and selfishness. It also has humour. My mother knew all about bereavement, but now she was facing her own death. I am asked often if my mother’s books were based on real events in her life, and I can find more to recognise in Blaming than in her other novels. The story is of Amy, suddenly widowed in Istanbul, and of Martha who helps her to return home after the tragedy. In normal circumstances they would never have become friends, but Amy, made to feel guilty over her neglect of Martha, reluctantly agrees to meet her again. My mother’s friendship long ago with someone who also committed suicide was not similar, but the real Martha was like the one in the book. As a child I can remember being fascinated by her.
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