Wakes in bite.
Dianne Yarwood’s debut novel, THE WAKES centres on a couple of enterprising women who cater for funerals.
Four funerals and two failing marriages form a complex narrative of intertwined stories as pharmaceutically trained Clare is cajoled by free spirited Louise to help feed the multitudes in mourning at well heeled requiems.
It is said that a way to a man heart is through his stomach and the food served up at these solemn occasions certainly brings the proposals to the surface.
Perfect pastries and choice chicken sandwiches bring comfort to the bereaved and hope to the heartbroken in this infectiously readable story of chance encounters, changed lives and uncharted waters.
THE WAKES shows how in the midst of death we are in life and vice versa, past lives and present dead inextricably woven together in the gossamer threads of the web of life.
Peppered with the little deaths of divorce and separation, THE WAKES is a meditation on the consequences of actions, of things left in their wake. It is also a book about the after life, not in the supernatural meaning, but the life that goes on after a life altering event, when one stage begets another, a resurrection from the past and the hope of a new future.
Departures and arrivals, exits and entrances, THE WAKES is a eulogy for the surprises and sorrows, the slings and zings of life itself, a memorial to friendship and a celebration of living.
THE WAKES is an impressive debut and one hopes that it is not a case of last writes. Yarwood proves she has the recipe for success and the rights have already been bought for a television adaptation, so read it before it screens. It’s sure to whet your appetite.
THE WAKES by Dianne Yarwood is published by Hachette
