Girl from the South – Joanna Trollope

I've enjoyed many Joanna Trollope books over the years and hence when I picked up Girl from the South in a charity shop I was quite excited about another similar read. Right from the start though this book is a bit different.

The first section of this book is set in Charleston in the USA and we are introduced at this point to a character called Gillon and her family. For the whole of this first section though was incredibly confusing. There was a large number of characters introduced in a very short period and as I result I found myself very confused as to who was who!

By the time I started the second section I was thinking that it things did not clear up soon I'd be returning this book to the charity shop sooner than expected. The book's action moved to London in the second section and in these more familiar surroundings the reader is introduced to Tilly, her boyfriend Henry and their flatmate William, who also happens to be Henry's best friend. A chance encounter brings Gillon and Tilly together in London and then all these four lives come together. 

Although the book gains some clarity at this point the story never really seems to completely take off. It's impossible to say that there is one real focus in the book and as a result it seems to dart between different characters in their situations. Sometimes these characters come together, sometimes they don't.

In summary I would say that this book doesn't match up to the standard of some of Trollope's others and was therefore a bit of a disappointment. A shame really.