Once again, Roddy Doyle’s atmospheric and deceptively simple writing takes my breath away. The Women Behind the Door is, mostly, a huis clos; a middle-aged woman and her (almost) middle-aged daughter reconnecting when the daughter returns to her mother’s house during the Covid lockdown. You can practically feel the claustrophobic weight of this small house — too small for the depth of emotional bagage it contains — and the weight of trauma bearing down on both women.
Doyle is a master of understatement, packing a huge range of emotions and communications into every halting, stilted conversation. He can make gestures as simple as lifting a cup of tea or dropping a gaze charged with unspoken meaning. He also wonderfully captures the at-once highly charged and intensely boring period that was the lockdown. It’s a rough ride as it deals with some horrible topics – abuse, trauma, alcoholism… – but it’s leavened by quite a lot of quiet humour.
I saw that The Women Behind the Door is the third novel with Paula Spencer. I have not read the first two. No matter; this one stands very well on its own. I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates fine writing.
My thanks to publisher @vintagebooks, the author and Netgalley for giving me a free copy of this book. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.
You might also like: Love | Roddy Doyle