My Real Children

{5/5} “She had been in that little phone box in the in the corridor in The Pines and Mark had said that if she was going to marry him it would have to be now or never. And she had been startled and confused and had stood there in the smell of chalk and disinfectant and girls, and hesitated, and made the decision that changed everything in her life.”

My Real Children by Jo Walton, published in 2014

In 1949 Patty’s boyfriend says if they’re going to get married it’s now or never. She says yes — quits her job as a teacher and discovers that Mark in real life is not the same as Mark in his letters. She also says no — continues teaching, and visits the continent in the summer with a friend. In 2015 Patty is confused — she remembers living two different lives.

Walton writes books that don’t take you very long to read but are nevertheless profound. This has a similar feel to Among Others in a general way.

It gives you an idea of what people who lived in the middle part of the 20th century had to deal with.

It’s about all the different ways you can spend your life. It’s not only about how Patty’s life changes but also the world, in an alternate history sort of way.

It’s about how our choices in life can affect things you can’t imagine.

I’ve read 3 of Walton’s books. I previously reviewed Among Others.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 27th, 2017 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Reviews of books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply