Whatever You Love
Louise Doughty
Faber & Faber
There are moments in our life that change us forever. For Laura, the moment arrives with a knock on the door. Expecting to see the small form of her nine year old daughter, she is surprised by the two larger shadows against the paneled glass. Opening the door, she is momentarily puzzled by the presence of the two uniformed officers on her front step. Her brain does not compute what they tell her. And its not till later, after she follows them to the hospital, and even much later, when her daughter's funeral is over, that the force of the words finally hit her. Betty, her golden-haired child is killed by a speeding car as she and a her best friend cross the road. And Laura vows to take away from her daughter's killer, the one thing he cherishes most in the world.
Whatever You Love strikes a hard punch at the core of every parent's heart. Without resorting to sentimentality, Doughty straddles our basic human needs: love, shelter and security. She illustrates that love makes us vulnerable; it propels us to fight, and fuels our innate need to protect Whatever You Love.
4 stars.
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