
Clever Little Thing has left me feeling unsettled. Helena Echlin’s psychological noir thriller presents motherhood through an intriguing lens, offering a unique take on the mother-daughter relationship. It is not a book for the faint of heart and will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on your mind long after reading it.
Echlin, a fiction writing teacher at Oxford University, structures the book into two timelines, Then and Now. Told from a first-person perspective, Echlin distinguishes the Now timeline using the present simple tense and the Then timeline with the past tense, creating a hauntingly intertwined narrative.
Main character Charlotte is pregnant with her second child and not feeling her best: the sickness is taking a toll on her, disturbing her everyday life. On top of trying to maintain a good relationship with husband Pete, who has a different way of dealing with eight-year-old daughter Stella, Charlotte also tries her best to find a friend for her. Stella is gifted but antisocial, her behaviour often suggesting she may be on the spectrum. Charlotte, though, struggles to accept her daughter might need outside help, and instead tries to create a perfect environment for her.
Everything starts to fall apart after Stella’s babysitter Blanka mysteriously dies, after which the child changes, adopting Blanka’s personality. Lines become blurred,; Charlotte finds herself unsure of what is real and what is just her imagination.
How far can a mother go to help her child? Does she really know what’s best? Echlin answers these questions in this creepy and eerie story, where not everything is what it seems. Any fan of character-driven, suspenseful narratives will not be disappointed.
Clever Little Thing, Helena Echlin (Headline)
Price: £20. Info: here
words EWA PAŁKA