Elly
Maike Wetzel
Scribe
ISBN: 9781925849165
RRP $24.99
Description:
A missing child is a nightmare for any family. But what happens when they come back?
Eleven-year-old Elly is missing. After an extensive police search she is presumed dead, and her family must learn to live with a gaping hole in their lives. Then, four years later, she reappears. But soon her parents and sister are plagued by doubts. Is this stranger really the same little girl who went missing? And if not, who is she?
Elly is a gripping tale of grief, longing, and doubt, which takes every parent’s greatest fear and lets it play out to an emotionally powerful, memorable climax. It is a literary novel with all the best qualities of a thriller.
My View:
Sparsely written, staccato in style – a story of loss, grief, desperation and the longing for completeness, of family.
This is a quick yet powerful read; there is a darkness buried deep in our soul that is slowly pared back, revealed by the knife of grief and longing. The sister and her desire to “claim”, reinvent a new sister, the family unit in its desperate need to believe that the “returned” child is their own, that child’s need for the comfort and completeness of “family”.
An extraordinary and unsettling read.
PS – the cover is perfect – subtle yet evocative.
Reading, Writing and Riesling 
That’s such an interesting perspective to take, Carol. What happens if the child returns? Is it the same child? Even if it is, nothing is ever really the same. And if it isn’t.. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but it reminds me of another Aussie crime novel I read, where an abducted child is returned to parents. It explores a bit of that, too…
This little read – it is only a couple of hours reading at the most – actually raises so many questions.