Fiction Pick of the Week: Without a Backward Glance

Without a Backward Glance by Kate Veitch 2006
Without a Backward Glance is a thought-provoking novel about family ties and how these have an impact on a person’s psychological development. Rosemarie McDonald, a British-born mother of four is living in Melbourne and is very unhappy about her life. On Christmas Eve 1967 she leaves her home to run an errand and never returns. Her husband Alex, soon discovers that his wife has deserted them to return to England to pursue a career in fashion design. Forty years later, her son James meets someone who knows of his mother’s existence in England and this sets in motion a reunion of Rose (Rosemarie)with the family that she left.

All of her children have developed psychological and substance abuse problems due to the trauma of her desertion. The reunion is a bittersweet event and all of them seem to benefit from confronting Rose with their anger and sorrow. What I liked about this novel was how Veitch presented a realistic portrait of the trauma this family went through and how each adult coped with the reunion in a different way. Many family issues are brought forth in this novel, and I think it would make a good book for a book club.