I have just finished reading “Haven’t They Grown”, and I am not sure what to make of it! I didn’t really enjoy the book, although at times I was totally gripped by the storyline.
Overall, the book is simply not plausible, in my opinion. The plot is convoluted and I did not find the characters very believable.
For me, the main character Beth simply was not credible. Throughout the story, she was impulsive, dogged and determined to get to the root of the reason why her friend’s two children had apparently not grown up over the course of the twelve-year period since she had last seen them. However, the lengths to which she went in pursuit of the truth could not be interpreted as realistic or even feasible.
Beth’s daughter, Suzannah (Zan), plays a central role in the story and, for me, she was more believable. Zan supports her mother’s endeavours, although at times I feel she is more interested in meddling and keeping the action going, than in really helping resolve the mystery of the two children who seemingly didn’t grow up. However, there is a totally bizarre incident in the midst of the storyline where Zan becomes embroiled in an incident at school involving accusations of racism against a teacher. The incident is explored in some detail and seems totally out of context with the rest of the storyline.
Beth’s husband vacillates between being supportive of Beth’s pursuit of the truth and giving the impression of being fed up with the whole thing! Beth’s son, Ben, gets little mention in the book and is largely absent from the storyline.
I enjoyed the style of writing, whereby Beth narrates the story in the first person and, obviously, from her perspective. However, at times she is irritatingly repetitive as she goes over in her mind what has happened and tries to make sense of it.
Prior to reading “Haven’t they Grown” I was not familiar with the work of Sophie Hannah. Having read this book, I don’t think I will rush to read another by this Author (sorry, Sophie!)
I would like to ask Sophie why she introduced Ben to the story, and then then gave him virtually no further role as the events unfolded. What did she feel were the underlying dynamics within this family?