The Discomfort of Evening

           by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

            My rating : 5/5 stars

Overcoming grief writ by the untimely demise of a loved one is difficult.

To wake up each day to an altered reality, to stare at a void, to turn at every familiar sound only to be left bewildered by its absence, to look at the now empty corners, to go through laundry and to find clothes missing – each day, every day – changes the contours of existence of those left behind.

Grief may have a language of its own but no words can capture the extent of its impact, its bearing upon those mourning a death in a family. Perhaps more so for kids who wonder how a person can just cease to be with them all of a sudden. It’s bound to be bewildering and unreasonable.

Marjeke Lucas Rijneveld weaves for us the story of a family mourning a death, narrated by a kid who desperately tries to make sense of things and indulges in acts which appear disturbing to the reader. The discomfort of being in a situation not easily comprehensible to the young mind seems to spill through the writing, reaching the reader in a way which overwhelms and haunts for days to come.

A must read.