First Novel

Finished April 29
The Cradle by Patrick Somerville
This novel was shortlisted for the Centre for Fiction First Novel Prize. It has two storylines. The first is around young Matthew Bishop and his wife Marissa. Marissa is eight months pregnant with their first child and expresses a sudden need for the cradle used for her own infancy. The cradle was taken by her mother years ago when she left Marissa and her father. Matthew takes on the quest to find the cradle, following lead after lead on its trail, and discovering something completely unexpected at the end.
The second storyline, set decades later is around children's author Renee Owen, who finds difficulty dealing with her son's deployment to Iraq. She is drawn back to memories of an lost love, and past secrets.
I was entirely caught up in the novel, and found Matthew a sympathetic character. I had some inklings of some of the books developments before they happened, but was still surprised. A very enjoyable read.