Review ~ Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

June 6th
Faber and Faber

Sometimes a book you don’t expect to like really takes you by surprise and makes you sit up and take notice. Gripping from the beginning this book takes you on a roller coaster of a journey as we watch as Yvonne Carmichael, a renowned scientist, begins an illicit and highly addictive extra marital affair with man who is at first a stranger. This irresponsible liaison which begins with a risky sexual encounter will ultimately spin Yvonne’s life out of control.

I think what I found refreshing is that Yvonne is fifty-two, not some inexperienced ingénue, so  it could be argued that she should have known better but what it does prove is that we are never too old to act out of character – and that pushing self destruct buttons is not merely a prerogative of being young and in love.

To say more about this story would be to do the book a complete disservice- it is definitely one of those books which once started you simply can’t put down. I started reading it on a sunny day in the garden at about 11:30 and didn’t look up, except for food and drink some twelve hours later.

My thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for my copy of this book.