Poignant, bittersweet story about grief and the redemptive power of new love
The lovely cover of Eithne Shortall’s second novel alludes to the tragic incident with which the story opens. The Henry of the title is killed in a traffic accident when the oversized scarf he’s wearing, painstakingly knitted for him by his partner Grace, gets caught in the spokes of his bicycle.
The novel then jumps forward several weeks, as Grace is moving into the house the couple had bought just before Henry’s death.
Shortall (right) deftly tackles Grace’s grief, with the first 100 pages devoted to her attempts to regain some semblance of normality, returning to her job as a chef in a trendy cafe and working on her new home.
When the boiler starts acting up, a plumber is called in and Grace finds herself face to face with Henry’s handsome doppelganger, an Australian named Andy.
To give away any more would spoil the fantastically surprising plot, but from the moment Andy is introduced, the novel follows a very different path than readers might expect.
In her first novel, Love in Row 27, Shortall showed a great talent for developing distinct and delightful secondary characters and the cast is even better this time around. The standouts are Grace’s crotchety elderly neighbour, Betty, her eccentric boss and wannabe actor, Dermot, and Arthur, her recently retired father.
Grace herself is a particular gem. Shortall has come on in leaps and bounds in the characterisation of her heroines.
While the protagonist of Love in Row 27 was hard to engage with, Grace is far more real and complex.
Grace simultaneously frustrates and endears and readers will immediately grow fond of and connect to her.
Despite the physical similarities between Henry and Andy, the novel is careful to distinguish their personalities, although the connection between the two men will require a serious suspension of disbelief.
The unpredictable plot will keep readers gripped and guessing until the very last line and is sure to leave them grappling with mixed feelings.
Grace After Henry is a great choice for book clubs, prompting questions about lost love, grief, family and moving on after the death of a partner.
The world of Shortall’s novel is warm and inviting and readers will feel totally immersed in this heartfelt, bittersweet story.