After reading The Goodmans and After Mrs. Hamilton I had to pick up Pennance. This is Ashton’s first published book and a bit darker than the rest, though arguably less controversial than After Mrs. Hamilton, and fits into its own unique genre. Not quite a thriller, romance, or mystery though there are elements of all three. I very much enjoyed it.
Here’s the premise-
Lucy is left with paranoia, trauma, and memories after her partner, Jake, dies in a car accident. She struggles to make it through her daily routine while living right outside the village of Pennance, a small town where secrets are not kept and gossip is wide spread. Lucy can hardly take it, but doesn’t wish to leave the cottage she shared with Jake. Her life has become rather lonely aside from Jake’s brother who offers some companionship, though not without other intentions. Things are pretty dismal until Karen, a newly divorced mother of two, moves in next door. Both women enjoy each other’s company until their daily routines merge. Lucy may finally be happy once again. Her paranoia is still strong though, or is there an actual threat- someone out to get her despite the disbelief? Told through Lucy’s perspective we get an in depth look on this sometimes tragic, sometimes heartwarming, series of events.
If there’s one thing I know about Ashton, it’s that her characters are never one-dimensional or simple. I love reading about complex women, women in grief, women in isolation, women fighting and growing and even finding companionship-love after being so long without it. Pennance manages to accumulate all of this. For what felt like a fairly short book, the plot tackled a lot: Lucy overcoming her PTSD, guilt, and grief, Karen building a new life for herself after divorcing her husband, a civil trial against one of the townsman who worked on Jake’s car, and even perhaps a psychopath. I felt that if the later elements were expanded on more then maybe this book would have fit more snuggly in one of the previous mentioned genres, but I’m kind of glad it didn’t. Pennance seems as if it was only meant to be a window opened just long enough to show the pain of loss, the joy in no longer being alone, and how the later can make the former almost inconsequential even under strenuous circumstances.
The writing is beautiful. Ashton has a very unique tone in all of her books that so easily captivates. Here, for me, it was the detail in her descriptions that really set every scene so vividly. I also appreciated how other character details weren’t over-described. I felt that there was a trust in readership to pick up on what was unfolding. I also enjoyed how the characters developed. Besides Ben (Jake’s brother), who maybe jumped a bit too quickly for me at the end, though I can understand the cause. I think the ending in general was a bit quick, not rushed, but a bit faster than the rest of the novel.
I think Pennance would be a good fit for anyone who likes more general fiction and can enjoy the heaviness associated with deep emotional growth.