Lyrics For The Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin

I received a review copy of this book from its author.

A Book with a Vegetarian Character

Synopsis: After half a century confined in a psychiatric hospital, Matty has moved to a care home on the Cumbrian coast. Next year, she’ll be a hundred, and she intends to celebrate in style. Yet, before she can make the arrangements, her ‘maid’ goes missing.

Irene, a care assistant, aims to surprise Matty with a birthday visit from the child she gave up for adoption as a young woman. But, when lockdown shuts the care-home doors, all plans are put on hold. 

But Matty won’t be beaten. At least not until the Black Lives Matter protests burst her bubble and buried secrets come to light.

Will she survive to a hundred? Will she see her ‘maid’ again? Will she meet her long-lost child? 

Rooted in injustice, balanced with humour, this is a bittersweet story of reckoning with hidden histories in cloistered times.

Advance praise

‘a smartly constructed, engaging and compassionate story about family, humanity and 'lost loss' ALISON MOORE, Booker prize shortlisted author of The Lighthouse

‘one of the best books I've ever read … a very funny and a hugely emotional read’ ALEX CRAIGIE, author of Someone Close to Home

‘vividly illuminates recent inequalities, with humour and humanity’ CAROLINE LODGE, Bookword

‘I’m reeling from the sheer brilliance of this book’ VERONIKA JORDAN, Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit

‘the author writes with intelligence, understanding and sensitivity’ ANNIE ELLIOTT, Left on the Shelf Book Blog

‘runs the whole gamut of emotions … one of the most memorable and heart-wrenching protagonists I’ve met’ OLGA NÚŇEZ MIRET, psychiatrist, author and translator

‘a well written, chatty book, with great characters’ EMMABBOOKS

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My Review: I was so happy to be offered a review copy of Lyrics For The Loved Ones, the third of Anne Goodwin's trilogy following the life of Matilda Windsor. In this novel, Matilda is approaching her hundredth birthday, still living within the care system that has, in various incarnations, been her home since she was a young woman, and that she ultimately was unable to live without. I still felt a strong sense of the unfairness of Matty's life in this book, but I also loved seeing her finally able to bloom to a degree as her gift for public recitation is harnessed during the Covid lockdown. 

Care homes are generally closed worlds to those of us not directly connected to them, so being able to witness exactly what the staff and residents had to deal with through the pandemic was really shocking for me. Even though Matty's astute interpretations of what is happening did bring a lightness to the situation, I was grateful to Anne for her sensitive and sympathetic portrayals. Even her language helped to bring readers into the care home itself with, for example, family members being 'Loved Ones'. The Cumbrian setting is also beautifully represented.

Lyrics For The Loved Ones doesn't just focus on Matty however, as several narrators take turns bringing their experiences to the fore. I did occasionally lose track of whose story I was following, but I did like the device of having this chorus of voices each adding their own perspective. It was entertaining for me to try and anticipate, ahead of time, how they would eventually connect to each other. Some are easier to work out than others! Parent-child relationships, when those children have grown to be adults, are an integral theme and the differences I encountered added an interesting depth to the story, especially as I wasn't sure until late in the book, who would turn out to be Matty's lost Loved One.

I think Lyrics For The Loved Ones would work as a standalone read as well as it does as part of the Matilda Windsor trilogy. Matty herself is a lovely character to spend time with and I loved being part of her world.

Meet the Author: Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.

Anne writes about the darkness that haunts her and is wary of artificial light. She makes stuff up to tell the truth about adversity, creating characters to care about and stories to make you think. She explores identity, mental health and social justice with compassion, humour and hope. 

An award-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize. Lyrics for the Loved Ones is her fourth novel.

Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.