It might seem like I love everything I read but I don’t. I read a lot of books and I only post reviews of the ones I’ve enjoyed and which I hope others will as well. The View from the Balcony is a case in point. I thought this one was positively brilliant, and I don’t mind saying so.
Three women are visitors to three patients at a rehabilitation hospital. Andie was injured when a man suffered a heart attack and accidentally drove his car into a group of people on a street corner. Andie is recovering at home from concussion and has no memory of the incident but she learns that a man who pushed her out of the way of the oncoming car was severely injured and is a patient at the Hepburn House Rehabilitation Hospital.
Coral’s mother, Val, is a patient at the hospital after a fall. Coral is trying frantically to prepare for an upcoming, eagerly anticipated trip, while at the same time sorting out Val’s care, finalising a work matter, looking after her temporarily disabled daughter and supervising a problem with her absent son’s flat.
Mara has been seconded to assist Estelle, a mean, scary senior partner in the legal firm where Mara works, who is in the hospital also recovering from a serious accident.
A single balcony which connects the three patients’ rooms eventually becomes a place where the women connect. They each empathise with the others’ difficulties and celebrate their happy moments as well, as they sit together on the balcony and gaze over the sparkling blue ocean. The three stories unfold into one memorable, unputdownable, highly recommended book.
Janette Paul is another wonderfully talented Australian writer. Thank you Pan Macmillan for my review copy.
Published by Pan Macmillan
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