Full range of human emotion

Afterwards
by Rosamund Lupton
Platkus pp480
ISBN-13: 978-0749942168

In 2010, Rosamund Lupton’s debut novel, Sister, received widespread acclaim as the fastest selling novel in the history of WHSmith. It was also voted as the best book in the Richard and Judy WHSmith book club.

Ms Lupton’s second novel, Afterwards, also belongs to that rare place where crime fiction and literature coincide – twists and turns come thick and fast while the text has a touching poignancy which illustrates the author’s original talent.

The opening scene of Afterwards starts with a picture of a school on fire. Inside, a teenage girl, Jenny, is trapped. Her mother, Grace, runs into the burning building to rescue her. Afterwards, Grace focuses her attention on discovering the identity of the arsonist and protecting her family from the person who is set on destroying them. Ms Lupton’s detailed script highlights the love that Grace has for her daughter. She is a mother who will always protect her daughter no matter what. She is always ready to fight the limits of her strength.

Ms Lupton masterly displays memorable characterisations of the different members of a family, the ties that bind them and the strong love they have for each other.

She effectively portrays the frailties and vulnerabilities of the characters and provides us with a plausible dialogue that allows us to connect with the main characters’ personas. Moreover, the plot executes a crisp insight into grief and familial guilt.

However, Afterwards suffers from a slight downfall as the storyline takes long to develop despite its gripping start. The reader is also faced with several characters at one go – this makes it hard to piece together their relationships with one another. Yet the novel does pick up and Ms Lipton’s figurative style, the plot’s suspense and the overall emotional impact of the tale all come together and culminate in an exciting ending.

Afterwards is a crime thriller with an interesting story and as the tale progresses, we become more and more attached to the intriguing characters. Although crime thrillers generally emphasise action over psychological aspects, in this novel both genres are included. Suspense and the whodunnit element are prominent as well as the emotional and mental conflict between the main characters. Ms Lupton’s writing style wills us to explore the depths of the characters’ minds. The novel’s powerful ending is another feature that makes the author’s narrative voice so persuasive.

Even though Afterwards could have been a shorter book, Grace’s relationship with her daughter and family demonstrates how the arsonist’s determination is not the only main feature of interest in the novel. Clearly, Grace is the roof that shelters her loved ones. Additionally, since suspense and love are the most dominant emotions in the story, the reader is kept engrossed all along. Despite its length, Afterwards is an absorbing text which invites us to examine and understand the many dimensions of human relationships.

Ms Lupton captures the drama of the story successfully as she presents us with a full range of human emotions – the result is a story that reflects how relationships shape our inner and outer lives. We are able to see what the characters are going through and how their actions affect one another. Afterwards is not linguistically challenging yet it is well written since we are able to visualise the characters and their lives. Most importantly, Ms Lupton keeps our interest in the plot, the characters and what will eventually happen to them.

• Ms Montanaro has a PhD in British Surrealism and Psychoanalysis from the University of Edinburgh.