Learning to Speak American is Colette Dartford’s first novel and is based on her own experience of renovating and living in a derelict house in California’s Napa Valley.
Lola and Duncan Drummond are struggling to cope with life in their Somerset village home after the tragic death of their only child Clarissa. An attempt, initiated by Duncan, to improve the situation by taking a holiday in California results in a sudden decision to buy a holiday home there. The ramifications of this trip combined with the continued unraveling of their lives in the UK take them on an emotional and sometimes heartrending journey. But for the first time since Clarissa died, Lola feels able to let go off her depression and consider a future.
A moving story, sensitively handled, which draws you in and keeps you reading. It’s a little bit predictable, but sometimes you just want a book which doesn’t require too much thought or analysis, which you can enjoy for its engaging characters and beautiful setting. and which tells a story you can involve yourself in. This does the job well.
Learning to Speak American is published by Twenty7 – the new digital-first fiction imprint of Bonnier Publishing – and will be available as a Paperback Original, priced at £7.99, from July 14th2016.