Book Review - The Outline of Love by Morgan McCarthy

Persephone was raised by her father in the isolated Highlands of Scotland after her mother died when she was very young. This story begins with her leaving for London and university. The mountain landscape of her childhood appears impervious to human interaction and she is hoping to find a place where she feels connected to other people. She is drawn into the orbit of Leo Ford, ex-rock star and luminary author with a reputation for being a recluse and a disdain for the normal trappings of celebrity. She links up with him but is never quite sure how he feels. The writing here is beautiful and startling with metaphors like describing club bouncers as large fat elephant seals in their tired suits and with their ponderous power. I'm not sure that I liked anyone in this book, including the city of London which is a palpable presence, but I did like the writing of it, the feeling of it and its unexpected moments of grace and truth. Perhaps, Persephone's struggles to know herself are too reminiscent of my own youth? Wendy