21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, July 28, 2001
With this novel, Mary Sheepshanks has stretched her talents to a different level. No longer is she merely a chronicler of a certain genre of British country life...although all of her books thus far have been enjoyable, insightful, funny and delightful.
"Off Balance" is all those things as well--but it also explores a subject of serious intensity: can a family whose catalyst is a handicapped, possibly autistic child survive an intrustion that upsets its very center?
Giles and Isobel Grant, a loving and devoted couple, belong to Scotland's upper-crust country community that Sheepshanks describes so well. They have two preadolescent twin children: Amy, precocious, musical (she and her father are both enrolled in a rigorous Suzuki violin class), outgoing and loveable--and Edward, an enigmatic, sickly little boy who marches to his own drummer, and whose heartbreaking handicap is described in an unblinking and yet totally sympathetic manner by the author.
Despite Edward's illness, which necesarily dictates the family's daily routine, life at the country estate is a happy one, full of the eccentric and sometimes outrageously funny characters that populate all of Sheepshanks' novels. Case in point: Lord Dunbarnock, who has not cut his hair or beard in several decades, and who, clad always in proper tartan gear, carries antibacterial handwipes in his sporran (the Lord has a dreadful fear of germs, due to an overzealous nanny in his youth). Then there are Mick and Joss, two New Zealand giants who act as handymen/babysitters/cooks for the Grants...and whose relationship with each other is, well...loving. And, Flavia the flautist, heroine of Sheepshanks' "Facing the Music," returns, much more likeable in this book, as she has settled into motherhood, marriage, and the resumption of her brilliant musical career.
Enter Lorna, Isobel's beautiful, bitchy and self-centered older sister, who has divorced her South African husband and who begs shelter with the Grants until she can get her life together. The fact that this rehabilitation includes a plan to steal away Isobel's husband, with whom Lorna had a brief affair before Isobel was in the picture, is lost on nobody except Giles.
Lorna's entrance on the scene upsets the balance in the Grant household almost immediately, starting with her cruel treatment of Edward, whom she insists on regarding as a spoiled brat; and her aggressive foray into Isobel's daily life. Isobel, whose happy-go-lucky personality has always been her strong suit, is trying to hold on to her own balance, already knocked severely askew by Edward's unending physical and emotional problems. Amy and Edward, with the clear insight that children so often have, loathe their aunt, and she is regarded with strong distrust by Mick and Joss as well.
As if this were not enough, a sexy young male artist, Daniel, arrives at the estate to paint the backdrops for the property's theater, a pet Grant project. Although Daniel's arrival has been planned and anticipated with pleasure, his visit further complicates the precarious relationship between the sisters, both of whom are aware of his charms, and adds new stress to the now shaky Grant marriage.
Will the Grants survive the onslaught? Is their marriage really built on a solid foundation that can withstand all crises? Will sweet Isobel ever be the same? Will Giles open his eyes and see what is happening before it is too late? Will the children be harmed by the sudden tension in their daily lives? Like real life, there are no simple answers, and Sheepshanks does not offer a pat ending. Instead, she has shown us a slice of real life: poignant, tense, tragic, funny, loving, and ridiculous. I highly recommend this book; it will leave you thoughtful but smiling.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful and sensitive, April 8, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Off Balance (Mass Market Paperback)
I absolutely love this book. It is beautifully, even elegantly, written (except for a few phonetic errors such as "poured" instead of "pored"). The scene is vividly and appealingly set, and the characters finely drawn. Quite simply, I want to live in the world of Isobel and Giles and those around them. I want Isobel's spirit, her equanamity, her capacity for loving, her energy, her dog, and her household help. This is very much a testament to Ms Sheepshanks' evocative writing skills. I did not want the book to end.
What truly sets this book apart, however, are the twins, Edward and Amy. It is rare to find such wonderfully handled ten-year-olds. Amy is brilliant, loyal, challenging, and musical, and clearly feels all the pressure to succeed that the gifted sibling of a disabled person is bound to experience. The portrayal of Edward is perhaps the most sensitive and understanding portrait of a handicapped child I have ever encountered. There is no attempt to sentimentalize him nor to get inside his mind, something no one would be capable of doing. But he is so beautifully depicted that he becomes real in a way rare in any writing.
I am desperate for another novel by Mary Sheepshanks. I love all four of her books, and I REALLY want to find out what happens when Lorna drops her bombshell on Giles and Isobel. I do not hope for a sequel (although I would love one): another skill mastered by Ms Sheepshanks is her ability to tell her readers what has become of the characters in her earlier books even while she is writing about different people. For example, one learns about Flavia, the heroine of Facing the Music, in Off Balance, in which she is a relatively minor character.
Please, Ms Sheepshanks, keep writing your fabulous novels!
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