The Adoption

by Anne Berry

Barefoot, I pick my way across the rough floorboards to where a drawer lined with a quilt serves as a crib. Kneeling as if at chapel, I gaze down at my babe in her makeshift manger. I must not touch her. When I look I must not touch. When I touch I must not look. In this way Mam says no bond will form.Having fallen pregnant to a German POW, a young woman gives up her child for adoption. Years later, after a loveless childhood, her daughter will finally discover the secrets of her birth.

Genres: Fiction, Adoption

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Adoption is Anne Berry's third novel but this is my first encounter with this writer. Having devoured this compelling read, I am keen to acquire her earlier novels.

The story is told from the viewpoints of three very different women. The first, Bethan, a teenage girl living on a farm in Wales during WWII, falls pregnant with the child of a German POW and is forced to give up her baby girl, Lucilla. Her baby is adopted by Harriet, an older, conservative woman who is disappointed when Lucilla doesn't fulfil her ideal image of the perfect daughter. We also hear from Lucilla, now married with her own family but it is obvious that the mystery surrounding her real parents leaves an aching hole in her life.

Usually, with multiple narrators, I find myself more drawn to one of the characters but here, each character's story drew me in equally. Anne Berry is very adept at weaving all the strands of the story, building up the background in such a way that you see the motivation of each character, the birth mother, the adoptive mother and the adoptee.

The female characters are particularly well drawn and their strength contrasts sharply with the more slimy male characters especially Lucilla's odious, obsequious cousin, Frank and that supposed pillar of society, her father Merfyn. Somehow Lucilla manages to bounce back and forge her own way in life, on the surface a strong, independent woman.

Anne Berry eschews oversentimentality in this beautifully written novel about identity, family ties, motherhood and relationships. Highly recommended.

[Barbara Kinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

What puts me really off about this book are all the grammatical errors and words left out of sentences! Grrrr!! Bad, bad editing! And therefore, 3 stars.

[Mary Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Adoption was another book (a bookgroup read) of which I was uncertain but ended up pleasantly surprised by.
This is a realistic and compassionate novel about the complicated emotional issues surrounding adoption. The story of Bethan is heart-breaking, but Anne Berry rescues the book from the depths of despair to which it should sink with her lightness of touch and a quiet, quirky humour. The characters feel solid enough to make you fall in love with Lucilla young and old, want to strangle Frank, wonder what on earth motivates some people to act as they do and hope we have moved on since 1948.

[Irma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Berry’s thought-provoking novel. She beautifully describes the lives of Bethan, the biological mother, Harriet, the adopting mother, and Lucilla, who was adopted at the age of three and a half months. Furthermore, she goes even beyond that by taking Lucilla’s daughter to the picture, as at one point she also craves to know her biological background and true grandparents. She never will know them though, but the need to know her biological origin was palpable. This struck many chords and made me wonder how many adoptive mothers have had to give away a child they would rather have kept and who miss the child all their lives. I’m not a believer in that the environment can heal all but am convinced that biology plays a large part in forming one’s identity and wonder how much attention is paid in adoption processes to the biological connection between mother and child (and siblings). Lucilla does not fit in the adoptive family, neither does the adoptive mother learn to bond with her. The adoption was kind of a mismatch but could not be cancelled.

[Mary Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 The chapters that cover Lucilla's early years and Bethan's (her birth mother) romance with Lucilla's father are very good. Bethan is forced by her parents to give Lucilla up for adoption and the story revolves around her story, Lucilla's and Harriet (adoptive parent). The emotional distress that each of them experiences is well explored but the story seemed to run out of steam towards the end.

[Karen Keane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual type of book, but I was pleasantly surprised as I found it a very good read. The story focuses on 3 women, Lucille, her adoptive mother and her natural mother. It is really the story of a woman trying to find her own identity and I really warmed to Lucille and had a lot of sympathy for her.

[Lee-anne Coombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a beautifully written book, wonderful imagery. It shows the long lasting effects of decisions made both by oneself and by others on your behalf.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

ON and on and on and on...............rambling and repetitive; and yet the chapters with the young Lucilla are so compelling as to make me unable to stop reading it.

[Lorraine Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read. I loved it

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story beautifully and lyrically told. Not a jarring line anywhere.

[Jude Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would really like to give this 3.5 - not quite a 4 but nearer that than a 3! Enjoyable and interesting but in need of a good edit.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was good but not great. I listened to the book on Audible which I find a wonderful way to relax and makes a nice change from sitting and actually reading. This is the story of a young girl, Meghan, who is forced to put her beautiful baby girl up for adoption following an affair with a handsome, kind German soldier who was at the time a POW towards the end of the 2nd WW and working on her father's farm labouring. They are deeply in love and she becomes pregnant but her father will not allow her to marry a German - although the war has now ended. In the book the focus is on 3 women, Meghan the mother of the adopted child Lucilla, and the adoptee's mother. The book is very moving in places. Poor Lucilla is adopted by these two rather conservative, maturing parents and has a sad childhood with no love from the mother who is a tyrant of a woman who felt adopting a baby would be like choosing a new dress.. that she could choose from an assortment of babies all lying in cribs before her. This woman couldn't be trusted to have a dog in my opinion. Grown up Lucilla talks a lot in the book about her childhood and how bad it was and we learn about her in her later life and her own husband and family. The character of the mother is just a nasty narrow minded woman .. Annie Aldington's oration of the character is excellent. This book is beautifully written, very lacily and nicely descriptive ..but to me too descriptive. I found myself thinking ... get to the point! Also the character of Meghan got tiresome for me, she constantly whimpers about her "gift" child who she had adopted and never gets over her affair with the German soldier. It's sad but it just gets the reader to a point where you think... please don't go on repeating and repeating. Incidentally the orator who speaks as Meghan is brilliant. The beautiful Welsh warm accent is flawless. I found the ending disappointing mostly because I had anticipated exactly the outcome. It was a nice book but one of those books where I needed to finish it but couldn't wait to finish.

[Marion Roux · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 main characters - child, biological mother and adoptive mother.
The book is about their lives and the effect of the adoption an all.
Very real characters and the book is well written, although a tad long and a little padded

[Joanne Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many different narratives. A general lack of depth. Not entertaining, although at some moments there is insight shown into the complexity of adoption.

[Nicole B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[anonymousreader]

to-read

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve not finished yet, but Anne Berry, do you know me ? I presume you are not adopted, but you have hit the nail on the head brilliantly. Especially the cousins and the school uniform !

[Chris Peace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really looked forward to reading this. The beginning was a little slow but I did get into it. I remembered certain things I also came across in the ‘60’s. Thought it was my sort of book. The last part of the book I found myself being really bored. I did finish it but I thought it was unnecessary.

[Lisa Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't help but think of the quote, "Some books just swallow you up, heart and soul." This one did it for me.
Thank you, Anne Berry.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adoption is Anne Berry's third novel and was released in hardback in June 2012 by Ebury, the paperback will be published in February of this year.

I am a huge fan of Anne Berry's writing, I thought both of her previous novels; The Hungry Ghosts (2009) and The Water Children (2011) were outstanding and deserved much more recognition than they actually got.

The Adoption is a story that almost broke my heart in places, the writing is beautiful - enigmatic, poetic, haunting and so very powerful. The story concerns the birth of Lucilla, just after the end of the Second World War and is narrated by three woman; Lucilla herself, her birth mother Bethan and her adoptive mother Harriet and the story spans over sixty years.
Bethan lives on a remote farm in Wales with her parents and after a brief affair with a German prisoner of war, she finds herself pregnant and alone. Despite her desperate longing to keep her baby girl, the adoption is arranged and Lucilla is given a home with Harriet and her husband. They are an older couple, teetotallers, cold, unloving and with no comprehension of how to love and care for a child. Lucilla's life is difficult and when she is informed, aged fourteen, that she was adopted, she only feels relief.

It is not until Lucilla is in her late forties that she decides to try to trace Bethan, after acquiring paperwork left by her deceased mother including letters to and from Bethan from The Church Adoption Society whose slogan is The Homeless Child for the Childless Home.

These three very different women tell the same story from their own perspectives. Lucilla, Bethan and Harriet have been wonderfully created, their individual characters leap from the page - their faults are not glossed over - they are honest and incredibly realistic.

The horrors that Bethan went through as an unmarried mother are portrayed so well, the showdown between her Father and her lover is so very difficult to read, the pain and the heartbreak flows through the writing and left me feeling physically shaken. Bethan's future life is moulded by losing her daughter and this loss impacts on everything that she does until the day of her death. Lucilla's life too is not a happy one - her adoptive parents live a life filled with secrets and lies and Lucilla always struggles to please them. Lucilla's adoptive mother Harriet is a character who is very easy to hate, she shows no redeeming qualities throughout the novel and would happily have sent Lucilla back to the Adoption Society if she were able.

The Adoption is Anne Berry's best novel to date. It is heart-rending yet beautiful.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I began to read, I was instantly taken with this book. Beautiful writing and a poignant plot line held a great deal of promise. A Welsh girl falls in love with a German POW, who is working on her father’s farm during World War II. When she becomes pregnant their world crumbles, and the ensuing developments are heart-rending. The young mother who is forced to give her baby daughter up for adoption, the adoptive mother, and the child herself tell the story in alternating voices which switch back and forth in time. That they were each products of their era is plausible. From the vantage point of the present day, the protagonist’s wooden acceptance of her family’s decision that she surrender the child is hard to fathom. Horribly chilling was her family’s total rejection and lack of empathy. However, it was the adoptive mother’s persona that I found somewhat lacking in credibility. Harriet, as she was known, had no redeeming quality, no warmth, and was simply beyond vile. My patience began to erode with her continued presence. A few scenes involving interaction among children seemed forced and unnatural as well. Yet, these very minor flaws pale when one considers the overall excellence of this superb novel. Anne Berry’s writing was exquisite, flowing seamlessly, and leaving the reader totally immersed. Here’s a sunrise. ‘I saw what looked like a fire, a raging conflagration on the distant horizon. The tall pines stood out in relief against the lick of blood red flames. The field I was then crossing was soon bathed in streaks of butterscotch and blue grape. The sheep dotted about were backed with golden fleeces. It was dawn, an untamed inferno sweeping up the dregs of night. There was a gale blowing as well, and the autumn leaves were being tossed and hurled about in a coppery tempest.’

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story narrated by three women – Bethan, a teenage girl from Wales who in the 1940’s brought shame on her family by falling pregnant after falling in love with a German prisoner of war whilst he was working on her parent’s farm.

Harriet, who with her Welsh husband Merfyn adopts a baby from the Church Adoption Society. They are both members of the Temperance Society and Harriet has an image of how the perfect child should behave – she will be very disappointed.

And finally Lucilla - the baby adopted by Harriet and Merfyn. Lucilla grows up to be a troubled child and has a difficult childhood -she feels at odds with her parents and then one day the truth is finally revealed to her.

This was an extremely well written and emotional book. Three generations of women – all hostage to society’s views of what is acceptable behaviour and the laws of the time. Thankfully times have changed and society generally is now far more tolerant. The characters were so believable, my heart broke sometimes for Lucilla and the emotional cruelty and violent outbursts she suffered at the hands of her adoptive mother. The story takes us from Lucilla’s childhood and we are brought up to date with Lucilla’s current life with her own children and family.

The characters were so well written so as to provoke a reaction with the reader. There were slimy, odious characters who were easy to dislike and others that you could feel empathy for.

Although all three women feature in the narrative, the story is mainly about Lucilla but I would have liked to have known more about Bethan’s life after the adoption. She was an interesting character who life was changed forever by the baby she had to give up.

A recommended read.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adoption is a heartbreaking story about 3 women set back in England and Wales in the 1950s and onwards.

Bethan is a young Welsh farmgirl who falls pregnant to a German POW who had been helping on her families farm, she has Lucilla who she gives up for adoption to Londoners Merfyn and Harriet.

The chapters are told through each women’s eyes and describes the agonizing decision for Bethan to give up her daughter Lucilla for adoption. Harriet describes Lucilla is wayward, naughty and deceitful while Lucilla describes her childhood as hard, troubled and quite honestly very sad.

Telling the story through the 3 women’s eyes helps you form a bond with these women. I really felt for Bethan and Lucilla (later Laura) but I just couldn’t warm to Harriet.

Harriet is quite a hard women, she is not a very likable character but I did have to remember that her character might have been historically correct in terms of her attitudes and beliefs.

I was left shaking my head at the way she responded to Lucilla and her attitude/view of adoption.

It was like she was shopping for a new puppy…
There were a couple of boys, but by then I had my sights on a girl. Even hearing that they have the correct sex in stock does not overall thrill me. I hoped we were offered more variety, that Merfyn and I might wander a row of cribs all occupied with potential candidates, that we would select the ideal baby for our daughter from the assorted homeless.
The Adoption, page 95.

Overall I quite enjoyed this book, it gave me some insight into the way expectant mothers were forced to adopt their children out in Great Britain during the 1950s and 60s. Such a heartbreaking decision for all involved.

[Annie Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am fascinated by adoption and the issues surrounding motherhood and identity - things most of us, who know where we came from, take for granted. There has long been the questions of nature vs nurture and attitudes to children have changed over the decades. The nation has a big appetite for genealogy, discovering our roots, revealing our past and finding out who we are. So this book promised more than it actually delivered.

A 'heart-warming' tale it is not. It's another misery memoir about damaged people, none of whom I could, as a reader, feel any empathy for. For me, there wasn't enough of a story or secrets - it was more of a saga. I found it really rather depressing. The prose was fussy and elaborate when it could have been more bleak, like the story it was telling. I wasn't moved, and I didn't really care that much.

However, from a writing perspective it was well constructed and well written, although certain parts of the story challenged the reader's with their credibility.

Whilst adoption is an emotive topic, this novel over-stated the horrors, and focused less of the emotions. Most of the secondary characters were ugly stereotypes, while Henry, Lucilla's husband, was rather too nice and at odds with most of the people in the book.

There is a gap in the market for stories like this, although I am not sure whether this will resonate with people who have been adopted or others seeking out a `heart-warming tale'.

[Jo Bennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1948 young unmarried mother Bethan signs over her unborn baby to an adoption agency. In the present day Lucilla contemplates middle age, her happy marriage, her grown up children, her ageing spaniel and the question over the identity of her mother. Lucilla raised her children with kindness and strength but her own childhood under her adoptive parents was repressive and grim, marred by a lack of love. Indeed, when at 14 she is told she was adopted all she feels is relief. Berry traces the lives of three very different women and the choices that made a sadness of all their lives. Beautifully told but very sad.

[Danielle Murinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutley loved this book, and it stayed with me long after i finished reading it. Berry has succedeed in creating complex characters with significant flaws, but ones that you cannot help but love. As the book goes on new storylines are introduced leaving you constantly questioning how it will end, something that I love in a book. Spanning half a lifetime 'The Adoption' discusses issues that come with discovering identity and where you come from in an intriguing manner. A must read.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

i so loved this book it struck a chord for obvious reasons.. i so hated harriet and was upset at her treatment of Lucilla. i really liked the characters of both Bethan and Lucilla but i was a bit sad at the turn of events dont want to spoil it for those still wanting to read it. i did cry at parts of this a brilliant book and i will look for more by this author 10/10

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

here is my review ... http://bonnie-simple-beauty.blogspot....

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this. first one by Anne berry that I've read I'll definitely look the other books up

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Enough that I went to get another book of Anne Berry',. The Water Children. It is unexpected. It is a story of human resilience, but in a realistic way.