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chart the sense of bewilderment and utter, almost horrifying stasis that occurs when someone dies. There is admin, of course, and initial melodramatic cross-country dashes as the news is shared – but then there is... nothing. Except long periods of reflection, and grief, and a large absence to bear. Lydia, Zachary’s wife, is left bereft, and moves in with her old friends Alex and Christine (physically getting into bed with them for solace on the first night after Zachary’s death). The book continues by tracing the tale of how this band got together, tightly weaving the tangled threads that held this quartet and their offspring together for 30 years. As the narrative deftly steps from past to present in detached third-person form, we discover that the lead characters’ romantic partnerships – between Zachary and Lydia, and Christine and Alex – are not at all how their journey began. Throughout the foursome’s lives there have been strong, fast-flowing undercurrents of passion that, like water slowly seeping into a house, will not and should not be ignored for long. Questions bubble to the surface throughout, which readers are left pondering between stretches of the novel: are people (especially women, in this case) too dependent on their other halves for identity? Can we ever change the roles we start out playing? As Tessa writes in her book: since that beginning, they had both changed their skins so often. Marriage simply meant that you hung on to each other through the succession of metamorphoses. Or failed to. Later in the novel, memories are shared of the quartet’s visit to Venice, which functions as the perfect setting – an unchanging city sinking beneath the waves due to the weight of its own history, the passage of time and unrelenting forces of nature – to help bring this questioning to a head. Christine, an artist, ponders in conversation with Zachary while visiting the Scuola dei Carmini: “But I mean
“Late in the Day is a gentle yet impactful and deeply thought-provoking book”
change and stasis, following impulse and respecting relationships extends throughout. It shines a light on what happens when we give in to urges, and how ageing and experience – aka late in the day, as the title signposts – can deepen the impact of betrayals that are worn more lightly when they occur at a younger, less responsible age. The novel closes in the same space as it begins, but leaves the characters changed for good. Late in the Day will delight fans of Tessa’s work and is an excellent introduction to her style for those unfamiliar with her novels. It’s a gentle yet impactful and deeply thought-provoking book that will leave you reflecting on your own choices and relationships – and makes a perfect beginning to a new year of reading.
it, I’m serious, listen. Sometimes these days I almost think I can do without the present. The past is enough for me, it’s enough for my life. Does that sound insane? I could only say it to you… I’m not saying that the past was good… or fair, or better, or anything. But nothing will ever be more beautiful than this, will it? It’s surpassingly beautiful. It surpasses anything I could have imagined. It fulfils me, it’s enough for me.” There’s an emphasis throughout the entire tale on experiencing and enjoying as much as possible while one is able to – or, as Zachary puts it: “I find I’m quite ashamed… of not having sinned, now that we’re here in Venice. It seems unworthy… of all the incitements to pleasure.” The wrestling match between past and present,
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