I found this aspect of Lily May’s nature to be at odds to her personality, as she was encouraging towards her children in every other way. Lily May is a strong woman who loves Bertie deeply, but does not believe that Bertie sees auras and refuses to encourage her daughter’s artistic nature. Bertie eventually recovers use of her leg, although she needs to wear a brace and a built-up shoe. Eventually Bertie’s mother, Lily May, gets fed up with Bertie’s lack of improvement and brings her home, where she dedicates herself to Bertie’s recovery. The story begins with Bertie catching polio while living in Melbourne in the 1950’s. She loses the use of one of her legs and remains in hospital for a very long time. She is a likeable and unusual heroine, who lives for art and is able to see people’s auras as a colour.* The Beloved is told by a child, Bertie Lightfoot. The Beloved was a much better book, although in this case, there was too much going on. I wouldn’t have read The Beloved by Annah Faulkner if I had realised that I had already read Last Day in the Dynamite Factory by this author, which I found quite dull.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |