The Cradle
by Patrick Somerville

Release Date: 7th May 2009
Publisher: Little Brown
ISBN: 978 0 3160 3612 2
RRP: £16.99

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Strong debut that has a deep impact...

There are some books that you instantly forget the moment you lay them down; there are others that stay with you, lurking inside your head, returning unbidden at random times. Such is the effect of The Cradle. This slender novel is a misnomer; whilst it appears shallow and immaterial, its contents explore the frailties and inner strength of the human condition in such a manner that is disarming.

Matt and Melissa are expecting their first child. A young couple, with some acknowledged and some unspoken history; they are tied together through their need for stability and love. Both from disrupted backgrounds, they are joined in their shared understanding of loss. Matt is an orphan, unwilling to find his birth parents. Melissa was abandoned by her irresponsible mother. It is Melissa who drives the story despite Matt being the one to physically attend to everything. It is Melissa who demands the cradle she lay in as a child; Matt must find it for her.

Through his convoluted journey it is inevitable that we are taken into the past; to see what was. A woman is introduced, tormented by the fear that he son will not return from his tour in Iraq. She cannot repress her memories of another time when she was in love with a soldier – a soldier who died never knowing that she bore him a son.
Personal tragedy, psychological scarring, trauma and 9/11 all makes entrances on this minute stage of human life. Their impact is not diminished nor embellished; they are displayed, raw and whole for all to see and feel. Delicate and touching, The Cradle is an astonishingly powerful story that almost seems impossible so- its impact will not be felt immediately- rather it will settle on your soul and linger there: a reminder of the various darker strands of life and how fortunate many of us are that we do not have to experience it all.

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