Ebook: 368 pages
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins, 8th May 2025
Source: NetGalley
First Sentences: The voices down below began as a distant rumble, like a drum roll of approaching thunder. Mama's voice grew louder and louder and then hit a peak that was shrill and sharp, letting out a stream of curses and insults.
Review Quote: ‘A moving tale of love, loss and identity… a compelling novel about family secrets and the search for belonging’Woman’s Weekly
My Opinion:
Finding Belle is the debut novel from the BBC journalist Reeta Chakrabarti. It is the scrutinisation of a mixed culture marriage over many decades.
The main protagonist is Mivvi the daughter of Belle, who is Indian but was raised in Kenya and her father Fairfax who is British. It is an emotional story that unfolds as this dysfunctional family cope with Belle's mental health issues, her husband's narcissism and the racism that the family are subjected to.
Though it did give me a lot to think about to be absolutely honest I found this story terribly depressing. Be careful that you are not feeling depressed yourself if and when you choose to read.
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.
Goodreads Précis:
Mivvi has two parents. But… sometimes she only has one. Or the other. And sometimes she has none.
Belle and Fairfax have a tempestuous marriage. Wed after a whirlwind romance in Belle’s hometown of Mombasa, they returned to England as man and wife, little anticipating the culture shock Belle would face. Alienated from her peers, far from relatives and friends who would have grounded her, and with a husband who couldn’t – wouldn’t – face her crisis, Belle gradually untethers from the world.
Years later, their only daughter Mivvi must decode her mother’s illnesses and her father’s infidelities, through adolescence and into adulthood, as she tries to shape a future of her own, while uncovering what’s been hidden from her.
Atmospheric and intriguing, this is a powerful story of mothers and daughters, betrayal and madness and a child who must forge her own identity.
Author Profile:
Courtesy of Amazon Profile
Reeta Chakrabarti is a journalist and broadcaster, and presents the news for the BBC. She has also reported extensively for the BBC in the UK and abroad. She was born in London and brought up in Birmingham; she lived in Kolkata, India, as a teenager where she attended Calcutta International School, and then returned to the UK for university. Her degree was in English and French. She began working for the BBC in 1992 and has been there in a variety of roles for over 30 years. She has always been a keen reader, and was previously a judge for the 2021 David Cohen Prize for Literature; chair of the 2021 Costa Book of the Year; and in 2023 chair of the BBC National Short Story Award. She was also a judge for the 2023 Laurel Prize for poetry, and is a trustee of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association. She lives in London with her husband, and has three children. Finding Belle is her debut novel.
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Amazon Profile. Twitter Profile
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