Fletcher, Susan. Eve Green.

FLETCHER, Susan. Eve Green. Norton. 287p. c2004. 0-393-32798-1. $11.95. JSA 

Winner of several prizes for first fiction, this is a British bildungsroman of endearing charm. Evie, the narrator, is an eight-year-old living in Birmingham, England, with her mother when the tale begins. At the death of her mother Evie is sent to live with her maternal grandparents on a farm outside a village in Wales. The sudden death is never really explained; the same can be said for many events in the book. The reader knows only what Evie, who is telling the story as a 29-year-old expectant mother, chooses to relate. The reader may have a different eye for the truth than Evie, which makes the story all the more interesting. There are many mysteries. Evie's father is a cipher, remembered by all in the Welsh village but nowhere to be found. A young girl disappears soon after Evie comes to live with her grandmother and grandfather; her whereabouts are never discovered. A young man, considered by many in the village to be retarded, who Evie befriends, also vanishes. There may be a link. Daniel, an attractive and solitary farm worker on her grandparents' farm, eventually marries Evie.

The book has lovely language. The memories of the grown-up Evangeline capture the delight of the child who comes from a gritty city to the beauty and endless variety of the Welsh countryside. Her mother's death is never far from Evie's mind and lies beneath the surface of many of her thoughts and actions. Like Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeanette Winterson, this is a book to be read and discussed. Everyone will have an opinion. Penelope Power, Retired Libn., Baltimore, MD