Elements of Raffaella Barker’s new novel, her eighth for adults, suggest commercial fiction: a narrative that oscillates between the aftermath of the second world war and the present day, and two failsafe locations, Cornwall and the Norfolk coast. But From a Distance is not commercial fiction. Barker’s narrative is sparingly studded with quotations, but this is not literary fiction either. There is a strong love interest, which does not blossom into romantic fiction. Barker’s novel is a hybrid, enjoyable, ultimately heart-warming. It lacks the freshness and charm of the earlier Hens Dancing, but recalls some of its vividness and forensically detailed scrutiny of family life.
In 1946, Michael, a demobilised soldier, avoids returning to his prewar life. Barker suggests psychological war damage of a standard variety. Michael eschews his parents’ farm in Norfolk and a mistily remembered fiancée Janey for the novelty of the Cornish coast, a community of fishermen, flower farmers and artists.
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