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Jump to navigationJump to searchInterpreters by Sue Eckstein (view source)
Revision as of 14:45, 6 December 2011
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Julia Rosenthal whilst visiting her childhood haunts, is invited to go around what used to be her family home. As she wanders around the rooms, she relives her past and seeks to understand why her parents (particularly her mother) were as they were. Julia also desperately seeks reassurance that she has not, in turn, damaged her own daughter, Susanna. Meanwhile the reader is given the privilege of knowledge unavailable to Julia. Via transcriptions of discussions with counsellor, the reader learns about Julia's mother firsthandfirst hand. Slowly, in alternating chapters, whilst Julia goes over her far from normal 1970s upbringing, her mother haltingly and touchingly reveals the secret life which almost destroyed her.
Sue Eckstein’s pedigree as a successful radio playwright is evident. What could have become a turgid emotional kitchen sink drama in anyone else’s hands, is a fascinating exposition of how the past affects the future. The characters are well-formed as Sue leaves clever hints as to their feelings and motivation rather than spelling everything out for the reader. (No pun intended!) For instance, Julia’s laid-back brother Max seems unaffected by the same childhood that haunts Julia. He is happy to leave the past behind and live, seemingly successfully, in the present. However he shuns one-to-one romantic relationships so the past has obviously intruded into his existence to some degree.
