Book 38: Never Stop Looking
Abbie’s husband Nick disappeared six years ago. Since then she has barely left her flat, going through rituals each time she does, leaving notes and familiar items out, in case he comes back and to entice him to stay. She searches for him every day, giving out leaflets and calling old friends. She is simply existing. She met Nick when she was in her early teens and theirs is a story of young love and a desperation to be together against the odds. We learn about their relationship through flashbacks told from Abbie’s perspective.
Owen is recently separated and moves in upstairs from Abbie. He’s having a hard time adjusting and misses his children. He is drawn to Abbie, feeling sorry for her and her lonely life. But Owen’s presence has an affect on Abbie too. Her routine is interrupted and she is forced to interact with people when she doesn’t want to. Unpleasant memories of Nick start to resurface and we realise their relationship was not as perfect as Abbie would like to believe.
There’s a lot about this book I didn’t like. The writing is good, and the characters are decent enough, but I was never sold on Abbie and Nick’s relationship. I don’t like either of them, and I think I’m supposed to, or at least Abbie, and to feel sorry for her and empathise with her situation. I can understand how horrible it must be to lose someone you love, especially when you don’t know what happened to them. Your imagination would run wild with all the terrible things they could be going through, and your life would stand still in hopes of them returning. But Nick just isn’t worth that wait. Nothing we’re told about him ever made me think ‘Yes, I would react in this way, I could not live without this person.’ Even in the beginning when we’re supposed to be shown his best side and how loving he is to her, he’s still pretty much a self-absorbed ass. And later the things he does to her…ugh. I couldn’t help thinking she was better off and I was hoping she had murdered him and buried him in the garden. No such luck.
But then there’s Abbie too. I found her almost completely unsympathetic, hiding out in her hovel of a flat. I found her almost gross at times too, for want of a better word. There’s just something really unappealing about her. She slightly redeems herself in the end, but by then it was too late, I didn’t care what happened to her.
It’s a very readable book, and nice in that you think you can tell where it’s going and then it takes a different turn. It doesn’t rely on the tried and tested formulas, which is something I suppose. I found Owen’s parts more enjoyable to read, and he seemed much more well drawn, though their stories don’t really mesh too well. I’m not sure I’d read any more of Sarah Jackman’s books after this.
