Review: Spacehopper by Helen Fisher

 

Publication Date: February 4th 2021

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Copy for review

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Blurb: 

They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect.

I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight.
And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.

Right now, you probably think I’m going mad.
Let me explain…

Although Faye is happy with her life, the loss of her mother as a child weighs on her mind even more now that she is a mother herself. So she is amazed when, in an extraordinary turn of events, she finds herself back in her childhood home in the 1970s. Faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?

A huge thank you to the Kaleidoscope tours on Instagram for allowing me to take part in their bookstagram tour for this book. 

First of all, I just want to talk about how striking this cover is. It is so beautiful yet subtle. Showing that sometimes less is definitely more in book cover design. I really love how it ties into the story and how it looks on my shelf. 

One of the things I enjoyed most about this novel has to be its characters. From our main characters Faye who not only gives us an insight into the tired working mother running a family of small children while also maintaining a relationship with her husband, we also get to see so many other wild and vibrant characters. From Faye's husband who is training to become a vicar and dealing with his faith, to Faye's friend Louis who is hilarious and wild. Louis was one of my favourite characters in the novel as he is so much fun, a wonderful friend to Faye and also there to keep her grounded and delve out some truthful advice. 

Louis was also a wonderful character to read about as he gave such deep insight into life as a blind man, and also a gay man. Reading the novel we see so many instances where people intentionally, and unintentionally, belittle or insult Louis as a result of his disability. When in a cafe, the waitress asks Faye what Louis wants instead of addressing him. The second hand rage we feel as Louis deals with these instances also goes to teach the reader how to not interact with blind people and not view them as just their disability. Louis was one of the best characters I've read in a long while and I would adore to read a novel just about him...hint hint Helen Fisher! 

The plot of the novel itself, I was skeptical... I am not the biggest fan of alternate reality or time travel books or movies but this was written well. Although I found myself sometimes passing through the novel passively, the plot definitely picked up toward the latter half of the novel and ended with such a perfect sense of completion that I had to rate this well. The feelings of longing that Faye feels for her mother and how her childhood memories were all she had to cling to was so well written. Fisher has truly captured so many aspects of real human life onto the page that by the end of the novel you feel so close to the plot and characters yourself. 

The representation of Louis and disability was also very welcome to see in an adult contemporary novel. I feel as though I don't see this enough so I welcome any recommendations in the comments. 

Overall a great read that will take you on an emotional and heartwarming journey of one woman who just wants her mother.