At first glance, Coral Glynn, Peter Cameron's moody 1950s British countryside novel, is like a painting by Magritte: the disparate parts don't go together in any conventional way, but when you look at it for a while, the internal logic becomes apparent.
Coral arrives at Hart House on a wet spring day as nurse to the elderly Mrs. Hart, who is dying of cancer. The house has two other occupants: Clement, Mrs. Hart's son, who is embittered by hideous burns sustained in the Second World War, and Mrs. Prenze, a wicked-tongued housekeeper, who takes an instant dislike to Coral.
To escape the oppressiveness of this assignment, Coral walks in the woods. One day, she comes upon two children playing "Prisoner." A little girl is hanging by her wrists from a tree while the young boy throws pinecones at her. They both insist that this is just a game, so Coral says nothing, but when the girl is found murdered, the local constabulary suspects Coral.
Less than a month after Coral arrives, Mrs. Hart dies. Clement immediately proposes marriage to Coral, although he has barely spoken to her until now. She accepts, and a hasty marriage is planned. On the night of her wedding, with Inspector Hoke due to arrest her the next day, Coral, with Clement's agreement, bolts for London where she builds a new life, circumscribed by work at the National Health and evenings spent in her room in a boarding house.
Peter Cameron's subtle, atmospheric period piece is beautifully rendered and takes several interesting twists and turns until, finally, Coral begins to find her way.--Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Ore.