The Lighted Rooms
The Lighted Rooms by Richard Mason, published by Phoenix in 2009, is a poignant novel that explores themes of family and duty within the complexities of the mind. This edition spans 517 pages and is written in English. The narrative follows Joan McAllistair as she embarks on a significant journey with her daughter, Eloise, back to their family homestead in South Africa. This trip serves as both a gift for Eloise and a way to alleviate her guilt about moving Joan into a care home.
As the story unfolds, Joan discovers her grandmother’s journal, which connects her to the historical context of the Anglo-Boer war. Meanwhile, Eloise faces her own challenges, having risked her business’s fortune on a promise from an old lover. The novel delves into Joan’s memories and her mental landscape, revealing her past and her unexpected friendship with a lonely teenager who shares her interest in history. This intricate exploration of personal and familial connections invites readers to reflect on the complexities of life and memory.
Official synopsis Publisher
A stunningly incisive and poignant novel about family, duty and the challenging world of the mind.
Joan McAllistair is about to embark on the ‘Trip of a Lifetime’ with her daughter Eloise; a journey back to her childhood South Africa and the family homestead in the old Boer Republic of the Orange Free State.
For Eloise, the trip is partly a gift, partly a means of assuaging her guilt at moving her mother into a care home. For Joan, the discovery of her grandmother’s journal transports her to the troubled times of the Anglo-Boer war. Eloise, in the meantime, has gambled her business’s entire fortune on a promise made by an old lover.
As their stories unravel, Joan takes increasing refuge in the landscape of her mind – in journeys to her own past. She also finds an unexpected friend in a lonely teenager who shares her fascination with history.
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