Mother Country

by Libby Purves

Everyone agreed that Shark Grayson wasn’t fit to keep her baby. A heroin addict living in a sordid London squat, she was already close to death when her American lover took charge, carrying off the baby Alexander to give him an affluent future and a loving home in the Midwest. But now Alex is 27 and afflicted by his lost roots and a romantic vision of England. When a business trip provides the chance to go and trace his unknown relatives, he discovers that while some British people are, indeed, very hard to get along with, others turn out to be more closely akin to him than he ever could have imagined.

Genres: Fiction

310 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Libby Purves is a journalist and author who has been writing for The Times since 1982. A previous columnist of the year and author of 12 novels and non-fiction books, she was for 40 years a BBC Radio 4 broadcaster after becoming the Today programme’s first woman and youngest presenter.

Reviews

[Jo Ferguson]

this was a book i picked up in a charity shop for 10p. I'd never heard if the author. but definitely turned out to be a wee gem , a page turner. it was a good wee book. would recommend to friends.

[Hjwoodward]

Oh I do like books where everything turns out more or less alright in the end! Alexander was born to a heroin addict and is of course an addicted newborn with withdawal symptoms. His father steals him away from the addict and gets full custody - the addict's friend testifies that she is an unfit mother and soon after tells the dad that she died. As it happens, she didn't die, and partly because she is remorseful about the baby (this same 'friend' tells her that the baby has died, or at least lets her believe he died) turns her life around and manages to stay in recovery. It was fun looking at the English class system through American eyes, and I enjoyed the judgments on both sides of both nations. Thoroughly readable with a few touching scenes.

[Sandra]

This was discovered while attempting to sort out my bookshelves; possibly double-stack them to make room - I'd no recollection of buying nor reading it but was glad to find it light and pleasing. as I'd remembered from other of Libby Purves' novels. The double stacking proved far less satisfactory.

[Lynne Easy]

An ok read !

[Kate]

Another excellent Libby Purves story. Not the usual run-of-the-mill. Much enjoyed.

[Sarah]

Didn’t actually finish it / just lost interest when the twist was revealed (which I’d guessed) and I realised where this was headed

[Sue]

Alex, a young man from the United States, is given a job in England for a few days, and decides to research his roots. He was brought up by his grandparents, after his father died, and knows virtually nothing about his mother, other than that he was taken away from her when he was a newborn, as she was a drug addict.

The story is well set in the context of 2001 in Libby Purves' usual breezy style, with good characters. It was a tad too business-orientated in places, for my tastes, and the computer solving details didn't entirely ring true; possibly because they are now so dated. But other than that I very much enjoyed re-reading this book which I had entirely forgotten since first reading it nearly sixteen years earlier.

Definitely recommended if you like women's fiction with a little more action and punch than many.
Latest review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

I would give this book four and a half stars if I could.

[Isobel]

Possibly a little more predictable than some other Purves novels. Always enjoy the way 9/11 can be wound into a plot.

[Joe Currey]

It was a bit slow at first but I did really enjoy it. Stick with it!

[Bionic Jean]

Absorbing page-turner.