âCutting between past and present, Stopps has written a tense page-turning thriller that is also a powerful study of old age and disabilityâThe Times
âI devoured âŠMay is a brilliant character. Spiky and very funny, and the setting of the care home is superbly realisedâŠa masterful feat of storytellingâ Tim Pears, author of trilogyHello, My Name is MayThe West Country
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They wrote it on the wall above my bed. Hello, it said, my name is May. Please talk to me.
May has been moved to a care home after her stroke. She canât communicate, all her words are kept inside. If she tries to point, her arms swing in wild directions, if she tries to talk, strange noises come out of her mouth.
May is sharp, quick, and funny, but only her daughter Jenny sees this, and Jackie, a new friend at the home who cares enough to look and listen closely.
When May discovers that someone very familiar, from long ago, is living in the room opposite hers she is haunted by scenes from her earlier life, when she was a prisoner of her husbandâs unpredictable rages. Bill, the man in the opposite room seems so much like her husband, though almost a lifetime has passed, and Mayâs eyesight isnât what it was.
As Bill charms his way through the nursing home, he focuses his romantic attention on Jackie, while all May can do is watch. She is determined to protect Jackie and keep herself safe, but what can she do in her vulnerable, silent state?
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masterpiece of tensionHighly recommendedâA . . . An expert exploration of ageing, and mental health, and what happens to our faculties as we get older . . . â
found hard to put downâA lovely book and one I . . . a recommended readâ
one the best readsâI dived in without knowing much about the story and I ended up loving it. It was â
wasn't able to put it downâI once I started it and I certainly wasn't expecting the ending. I shall be recommending this bookâ
Readers highly recommend :Hello, My Name is May