The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

We have no idea what it was like to be a headstrong young woman in the 30s or 40s. We can look backwards at our grandparents and believe that they grew up with the same sensibilities and realities that we do.  But - we would be incredibly wrong!

This is one of those books that force me to understand that life has CHANGED!!

Iris receives a cryptic phone call from a hospital that is closing.  It seems her great-aunt is a patient there and she has to pick her up. There is a huge problem with this phone call- she doesn't have a great-aunt.  Her grandmother spoke at length about being an only child.  Oh yeah and her grandmother has Alzheimer's and her father has died.

But - Iris feels an odd pull to this woman and agrees to speak to the doctor and eventually take Esme and help her find the next place where she will live.

This story is told in snippets between the reality of time between Iris and her step-brother Alex - interspersed with passages of Esme's memories and semi-fractured reality and disjointed bits of Kitty's mind (Iris' grandmother.)

And oh my!

Esme lived a life a bit out of step with sensible society - questioning the wearing of leather gloves and layers of petticoats.  But her deep connection with her sister Kitty kept her grounded. When that connection began to fray Esme broke loose in a heart-wrenching way.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book!
This is a haunting story of desperate decisions and retribution.
The end caught me completely by surprise!!!  Whew!!

Really interesting book!!