As the war in Vietnam stutters to a close, a heavily pregnant Faith flees America for a new life in England. Leaving behind everything she knew, including the mystery of what happened to the father of her unborn child after he went missing behind enemy lines. Three decades on and her son, thirty-something slacker Dan, knows he's wasting his life in pubs, nightclubs, and his dead-end job. That all changes, though, when a man with storied eyes and an old army jacket introduces himself as the father Dan never had a chance to know.
But is Jacob, a battered and broken war veteran, really who he claims to be? As Jacob's true purpose in seeking him out becomes clear, Dan comes to understand that his life is very far from meaningless - and that the choices he makes might have deadly and irredeemable consequences.
Readers who enjoy genre-bending books that play with themes of reality and identity will love The Heart Ladder!
The Heart Ladder was published by TRM Publishing on 9th March 2021.
Buy Links
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08YFL166K
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YFL166K
I really wasn't sure what to expect from The Heart Ladder. But after an amazing holiday in Cambodia and Vietnam last year I was attracted to the mention of Vietnam, and we learned a little about the war on the holiday.
Faith arrives in England heavily pregnant from the US to move into her late aunt's house. She's looking for a new start following the disappearance of her baby's father, Jacob, during the Vietnam War, assumed missing in action. She settles in to life and baby Daniel is born.
We then jump forward thirty odd years where we find Dan living in his own place and working in a bookshop (I disagree with the blurb that describes this as a dead-end role - it's my ideal job! 😂). But he's spending his weekends drinking and taking recreational drugs and wants to find some meaning in his life. Just as he thinks he's found something he meets Jacob, a man claiming to be his father. It's a meeting that will change the course of Dan's life.
I found the characters in The Heart Ladder relatable, particularly Faith, maybe because I'm a mother of (young) adult children. I found her to be kind, compassionate and open. The same couldn't be said for Dan, who I found to be quite unlikeable much of the time, but still relatable. Wasting his weekends in a haze of alcohol, he tends to push away those who care about him - colleague Fiona, mum Faith and Jacob, newly on the scene claiming to be his dad. Jacob intrigued me - limping, full of war stories, yet hard to contact and very keen that Faith hears nothing of his sudden appearance. There's a scene where Jacob spends an evening with Dan's colleague Fiona after 'bumping' into her. This turns out to be a much more significant moment than it first appears.
There are some big, wide ranging themes here - love, loss, grief, friendship, politics, radicalisation and how our decisions can have huge consequences. About two thirds in it shifts from being a straightforward family drama into something else entirely. I felt there were some moments in this section of the book that were handled clumsily but I enjoyed the idea overall and found The Heart Ladder generally to be an enjoyable and quick read discussing some important issues.
The Author
Sibby Spencer is an author, poet, podcaster and regular book reviewer for BBC Radio Derby. She enjoys playing around with the themes of reality and possibility, and creating characters who are very human in their flaws - yet capable of revelation and redemption. She loves getting lost in a good novel, swimming in the sea, learning new things and dancing in her kitchen. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and two children.
Author Social Media Links
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SibbySpencer
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sibbywrites/
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