Unsettled Ground By Claire Fuller
By Claire Fuller
In rural England Dot passes away in her crumbling cottage and leaves behind her two 51-year-old twins, Jeanie and Julius. Together, the two of them must learn how to get by on their own. But Dot has left them unprepared to navigate the world without her, having brought them up without much formal education (Jeanie is illiterate) and with a few debts neither of them knew about. Throughout the twins learn that Dot was not who they thought she was. She had secrets.
Outside the cottage the world has modernized, leaving Jeanie in particular unprepared. Jeanie learns that getting by in the world depends largely on literacy and finding work outside of the home, while Julius struggles with his own desires that oppose his sister's dependency on him. Both have to find their way and carve out a future for themselves. When another tragedy strikes, Jeanie discovers what she's made of and has to reconcile Dot's secrets with the mother she thought she always had.
This was a strong story, and a sad one. I saw the twists coming a mile off, but that didn't detract from the story telling and how Fuller got me there. The characters were frustrating, but that made them seem more human. They did the wrong things repeatedly and their problems would have been solved with some communication, which bugged me a little, especially because Jeanie and Julius were twins who lived together for so long. They should be able to talk to one another openly, I thought. Because of this I am giving Unsettled Ground 4 stars.
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