Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

People who perform on instinct do not keep vast libraries of information in their heads. They do not concentrate in company as if taking an important exam. They do not need to shut down frequently and turn off all the lights to find relief. And even then, find that peace does not come.

Sunday is living in a small town in the Lake District of England, divorced and with a 16 year old daughter she loves deeply, but is also somewhat in awe of. Sunday is easily overwhelmed, needs her foods to be show more white, or at least pale, and has trouble navigating relationships, despite frequently turning to a book of etiquette. It's the 1980s, so while in a later time, she'd be labeled autistic, here she's mostly thought of as peculiar or difficult. Her refuge is her work, in the greenhouse of her ex-husband's farm. Then a new couple moves into the house next door and Vita sweeps Sunday into the heady whirlwind of her erratic life. It's not a friendship that should work, but Vita is so self-centered and her husband so eager to keep everyone having a good time that it all works and before long, both Sunday and her daughter are centering their lives around this couple. Which works so well until it doesn't.

This is gorgeously written book told from the point of view of a woman for whom the world is a frightening and hostile place, but who nevertheless keeps trying to find a way to belong. She is both keenly observant, as a survival tactic, and utterly unaware of much of what is going on around her. There's a sense of rising dread in this book, something the reader can see coming, but not clearly, because we're seeing the world through Sunday's eyes, and how the author managed to do that is astonishing from a debut novelist. show less

I just finished reading this book and I want to start reading it all over again. Narrated in the voice of a neurodivergent woman named Sunday, who is reflecting on events three years past. Sunday is the mother of Dolly, a 16 yr. old who is just finishing her GCSE's and is in the developmental throes of separating from her mother. First Vita, and later Rols, move into the house next door. They have come to the Lake District from London for vague reasons.

Vita is eccentric and voluble and show more inserts herself into the home of Sunday and Dolly. Sunday is smitten by Vita and Rols because of their garrulousness, it seems easier for her to understand social context with them than most people. The relationship between the two households deepens, especially through Friday night dinners. Dolly in her rebellious phase is drawn to the lifestyle of this couple and their generosity toward her. Then the relationship begins to darken.

Through the narrative, the author gives us insights into the efforts that Sunday puts into everyday interactions and sensory distractions. Her various methods of coping, including echolalia and hand movements. She has memorized an outdated book about social etiquette to help her deal with social expectations. And she clings to a book about the way of life in Sicily which she has had since childhood and represents her father's heritage.

At times the descriptions of the Friday night dinners was a bit tedious to read. Yet tucked here and there are marvelous insights into the nature of people. The resolution of this book is a triumph. show less

This book was longlisted for the Booker prize, but only recently released in the US. I had read all except this one. I was unsure what to expect, as my friends’ reviews were all over the board, with some very much enjoying it and others wondering why it had been selected.

I was pleasantly surprised to find it a beautifully written, quiet novel that portrays the life of a woman on the autism spectrum, her neurotypical daughter, and their interactions with a vivacious wealthy couple who move show more in next door. Sunday and her daughter Dolly meet the ostentatious new neighbors, Vita, and her husband, Rollo. They are staying at the house next door while Rollo purchases and converts a children’s home in the area.

Up to this point, Sunday and Dolly lead a quiet life. Sunday requires an orderly life based on routines. She is particular about what she eats and cannot handle too much “noise” (sights, sounds, choices) in her daily life. Sunday is divorced from Dolly’s father. They live on his family’s estate where Sunday works in the gardens. She uses an etiquette guide to explain social protocols and attempts to follow them in order to fit in on the rare occasions she must attend gatherings. She has had a traumatic past, and we learn about her rocky relationship with her parents and sister. Her favorite book is related to Italian rural life. It contains stories and she finds comfort in repeating them.

The primary thrust of this novel is whether or not Vita and Rollo are true friends to Sunday or if they are merely taking advantage of her. Sunday narrates, so the reader views their interactions from her perspective. Vita is used to getting her way and on the rare occasions when Sunday stands up to her, there are ramifications. Sunday has always been treated as “different” or “not wired right,” so at first, she is flattered by Vita and Rollo’s acceptance of her quirks. They accommodate her preferences, such as only eating white foods or drinking only cold fizzy beverages, and Sunday states: “Their attention to my preferences touched me. I had not been known in this way before and found acceptable. There I was seen and approved of, even indulged.”

Sixteen-year-old Dolly accepts a job offered by the neighbors and starts making money and gaining more independence. Dolly is being influenced by the neighbors, and the reader wonders if Sunday can detect the changes in her daughter. Is it a positive influence? Her former in-laws seem to think so.

It is a nuanced portrayal. The characters are very well crafted. I found it touching that Sunday eventually realizes that one can be loved despite eccentricities, but it is not all cheery, and contains several darker elements (which I am intentionally not revealing to avoid spoilers). This novel is a marvelous job of psychological complexity and insight. For me, it definitely deserved its spot on the Longlist. show less

I had not understood, then, that people could be played like instruments to produce whatever sound you demanded of them.

from All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
Oh, I was mislead, too. Vita bursts upon the scene like a ray of sunshine that breaks through the clouds, eccentric and lively and unsettling all at once. Sunday was awestruck by her inclusion into Vita’s world, suddenly someone’s best friend.

Vita broke every rule. She showed up on Sunday’s doorstep in pajamas, show more or a in a fancy frock just back from the dry cleaners. She proclaimed to be enchanted by Sunday’s forthrightness. With her husband Rollo so often in town, she was lonely in their summer rental house. Now, she had Sunday.

Sunday was unused to this. Her mother had debased her, her husband divorced her, the world didn’t understand her anymore than she understood the world. As a person with autism, she struggled to translate the world, to understand. Now, she had a friend, and weekly Friday dinner invitations. It was one of Sunday’s “four acts of faith,” loving Vita, along with her love for her sister, her ex, and-her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, who is old enough to condemn her mother’s strange ways.

Sunday was proud to introduce her friend Vita to her daughter. But Vita’s impact on Dolly was not something Sunday could have imagined. First, Vita has Dolly for over-nights, then she and Rollo ’employ’ her to help them with their business, and then there are trips to London and new clothes. They have money and charm and a lifestyle that is hard to resist.

The delight of the early chapters turn dark and ominous, and I was turning pages quite worried about what would be revealed.

The novel’s portrayal of Sunday’s experience and response to the world is wonderfully done. Sunday is struck by Vita’s way of talking, echoing her words in her head, which also offered a more vivid portrayal of Vita. Sunday’s inability to eat any food that isn’t white is countered by Rollo’s Harrod’s meals that lure Dolly, steak tartare and petits fours. Rollo pours Dolly rich red wines.

What starts as a lively friendship of acceptance is revealed to be a manipulation of the rich and charming.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book. show less