Helen Dunmore: Mourning Ruby

Reviewed by SUSANA CARRYER

Mourning Ruby by Helen Dunmore is less the story of a bereaved mother's grief, as suggested by the title and cover illustration, than the story of a bereaved mother's search for her own identity. While this quest is apparently provoked by and intertwined with the tragic death of Rebecca's 5-year-old daughter, the real substance of the novel is found in Rebecca's complex adult relationships with the three significant men in her life.

Moving fluidly between past and present, Dunmore weaves a picture of Rebecca's background, from her abandonment as a baby, through an unhappy childhood with adoptive parents, to the intellectual and emotional escape provided by Joe, flatmate and friend, but never lover.

Interspersed throughout Rebecca's story is the description of Joe's futile attempts to write a biography of Stalin. This exploration of the nature of history and memory provides a subtle metaphor for Rebecca's desire to capture and define her own memories.

The interplay of these two stories is the most rewarding aspect of this novel. Rebecca's husband Adam appears only to function in order to provide the sexual satisfaction never accessible with Joe, and as the father of her child.

Dunmore presents a picture of a couple deeply in love; a marriage shaken to the foundations by the death of their daughter, that ultimately survives. Yet she provides no basis for this relationship other than sexual attraction, with the real love affair continuing to be between Joe and Rebecca.

Mr Damiano, Rebecca's employer during the time she retreats entirely from her previous life, immediately after Ruby's death, is a delightful character in his own right. However, his function in the novel does not do justice to the beautiful characterisation, as he serves primarily to deepen the philosophical exploration of memory.

In the final section of the novel, Joe has abandoned his historical endeavours and instead is writing a work of fiction, which he sends to Rebecca, with commentary. The story he writes is clearly an attempt to analyse their own complex relationship, and by interweaving it with Rebecca and Adam's reunion, Dunmore saves the novel from having too tidy an ending. The impact of this section is spoiled, however, by a redundant epilogue addressed directly to the reader, which appears to be an attempt to explain the purpose of the novel.

Overall, Mourning Ruby is a thought-provoking read, a loose attachment of some interesting ideas to a simple storyline.

It is indeed an ambitious novel, through which snatches of an extraordinary piece of writing can be glimpsed

Viking, $34.95

* Susana Carryer is an Auckland theologian.