Alice McDermott: Child of My Heart

By PHILIPPA JAMIESON*

On the face of it, Child of My Heart tells a simple story of a teenage babysitter, but under the surface danger lies. One summer on Long Island 15-year-old Theresa looks after various children, cats and dogs.

There's toddler Flora, child of a well-known alcoholic artist. There's the fey, fragile young cousin Daisy who comes to stay, and the neglected Moran kids from next door who inevitably gravitate towards Theresa.

Our protagonist seems almost too good to be true, unusually beautiful (and she knows it), responsible, Shakespeare-quoting, and good with children.

Her burgeoning beauty has captured the attention of two of the fathers of her young charges, and she tells herself she is one step ahead of them, that she can see their attraction to her and can use it if she wants to.

Teetering between the world of children and adults, Theresa is increasingly privy to the intimate details of the lives of the people she works for, but still young enough to relate to children on their level.

As a babysitter she is capable in the role of parent, while still hanging on to her childhood through games and make-believe.

McDermott has a light, sensitive touch. Her style is deceptively simple, with detailed descriptions of Theresa's daily chores, tending towards tediousness, but saved by the writer's obvious skill.

The book is light on plot, but carefully sewn together like a patchwork quilt, so the pieces seem like nothing much in themselves but cumulatively build towards wholeness.

It's a book best read in as few sittings as possible. That way the minutiae are submerged in the greater story and provide a background for the growing tension.

How far will Flora's father take his sexual advances towards Theresa? What are the ominous bruises appearing on young Daisy?

One theme running through the story is complicity: there's an unspoken agreement between Theresa and her cousin to keep the bruises secret, lest Daisy be sent home early.

And her toying with the attentions of men is a kind of collusion in Theresa's eyes.

The build-up is almost excruciating in its slowness, and for me there wasn't enough action, but those readers who appreciate a subtle, slice-of-life, domestic novel will enjoy this tale of adolescent innocence lost.

* Bloomsbury, $29.95

* Philippa Jamieson is a Dunedin freelance writer.