The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart

The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore is a unique and engaging story. I had  unfounded fears that it would be rehash of The Time Traveller's Wife but I needn't have because beyond the premise of time travelling the stories couldn't be more different. 

The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart is a female driven narrative set between the 1980's and the near present. It's meticulously researched so there are never any of those jarring modality checks when you realise, for example,  that a particular song hadn't been released when Oona listens to it. Montimore has created something totally believable which is a remarkable achievement considering how implausible it is that Oona is 'rearranged' to a different year of her life every New Year's Eve. When this first occurs, Oona is not surprisingly completely discombobulated and struggles with a sense of loss and alienation. Her reaction is in someways a hyperbolic version as to how we all feel at times, that feeling of not understanding who we are, what are we doing here and what on earth were we thinking when we did certain things? We are all strangers to ourselves and Montimore explores and exploits this idea expertly.

I thoroughly enjoyed Montimore's portrayal of familial relationships, they can be a minefield even when we have all of the context. You can't help but feel for Oona's plight when she knows that she's done something wrong but has no way of knowing what. A real strength of her character is Oona's desire to forge her own path even when this puts her at odds with her past or future selves. Oona is a reminder to us all that all we have to work with is the present and we should all perhaps live in it a little more.

Congratulations Margarita Montimore on a fantastic debut novel.

Thanks go to Tracy Fenton for inviting me on the blog tour and for my gifted copy.