Jo Verity has won many competitions including the Richard and Judy Short Story Prize 2003. She has been a judge at several literary competitions, appeared at literary festivals, had numerous short stories published in women's magazines and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and is an Arvon Foundation tutor.
Jo Veritys third novel is a great big slab of a book, but dont let that fool you into thinking itll last you a good few days or more. Of course, its possible to put the book down, but I found it hard to do so for any longer than it takes to make a cup of tea, and its a while since Ive been that engrossed in a novel. Ten-year-old Tessa and her nine-year-old brother Lewis have a new baby brother, Gordon. They hate the infant with jealous vengeance and determine to get rid of him by doing a magic spell. When Gordon disappears soon afterwards, they are convinced their voodoo on him has worked and that they are responsible for the ensuing tragedy that envelopes the family. Haunted by guilt and forever bound by their secret, the siblings become ever more enmeshed in a complex co-dependency whose intensity threatens their attempts to build meaningful lives and relationships for themselves. Like a pair of magnets, the more they polarise, the more powerfully they are drawn together, with likeable, introverted Lewis constantly coming to the rescue as Tessa acts out her sense of shame in increasingly self-destructive behaviour. The story, which spans the years from 1954 to 2005, is utterly enthralling and the characters and events in their lives never fail to convince. Verity has the poets touch for language and imagery and her observation of detail, whether physical or psychological, is exquisite. Suzy Ceulan Hughes It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council
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