I came across a collection of Maggie O’Farrell’s novels in the bargain book section of my local independent bookstore, and since I have read and enjoyed O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet, I decided to read one of her more contemporary novels. After You’d Gone, O’Farrell’s debut novel that was first published in 2000,sounded the most intriguing out of the collection. I found After You’d Gone to be just as interesting as both The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet.

After You’d Gone is about a young woman named Alice Raikes who one day impulsively decides to take a train from London to Edinburgh in order to visit her sisters. Her sisters meet her at the train station, and shortly thereafter, Alice abruptly leaves them to take the train back to London, and then ends up in a coma after she steps out into traffic and gets struck by a car.

What happened at the Edinburgh train station that made Alice suddenly decide to go back to London? Did Alice purposely get hit by a car, and if so, why? These are the questions that are eventually answered for the reader by the end of the novel, but not before the reader is taken on a journey through time and perspective. After You’d Gone jumps around through different periods in Alice’s life, from her childhood in Scotland, to her rebellious teenage years, to a young woman in college fending off an aggressive boyfriend, to a confident young woman living in London who meets the love of her life. It sounds like it might be confusing, but I assure you it is not. The narrative structure is what makes this novel so fascinating as secrets from Alice’s past are eventually revealed to inform the reader of why Alice is in a coma.

After You’d Gone is an introspective and character driven novel just like The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet. The reader gets to know Alice intimately not only because the novel is mainly told through her perspective, but her mother, Ann’s, perspective as well as she is the character who has the most influence on Alice’s life. Alice’s relationship with her mother is tense as Ann treats her differently from her sisters. It becomes obvious why as the reader learns about Ann’s dissatisfaction with her own life. But this tension drives Alice to independence from her family, and to London, where she eventually meets John. Alice and John’s love for each other is immediate and intense, and when the truth of what happens to Alice and John’s relationship is finally revealed, it is a devastating blow.

The emotional depth of the characters in After You’d Gone and their relationships with one another sucked me right in and chewed me up. After You’d Gone left me feeling just so sad, but also hopeful despite the rather ambiguous and abrupt ending. I definitely recommend this novel for anyone who appreciates a story that focuses more on character development than action.