Trudie's Reviews > Pearl

Pearl is quite an emotional journey if you are susceptible to lost mother stories. Oddly perhaps, I was reminded of last year's divisive Treacle Walker if only for the Old English verses and rhymes and the feeling that "Kit the Ancient Brit" would not be out of place in this one.
Sure there might be some pacing issues towards the end, a sense of a debut novelist unsure how to wrap things up but there is something charismatic about this book. It pulled me under and had me fretting for Marianne's well-being.
I wouldn't be disappointed to see it on a Booker shortlist.