Thirty-five-year-old Emma Montague thinks she has escaped the confines of aristocratic life in England by moving to New York, where she enters a lucrative career in banking. After a few years however, she becomes disillusioned with what turns out to be yet another stultifying lifestyle. So she retires to a rented beach house in Connecticut, where she plans to start a small interior decorating business of her own.

She meets and quickly falls in love with her new landlord, a handyman named Dominic, who has a six-year-old son, Jesse. Because they come from two very different worlds, much of the novel is taken up with anguished reflection on whether their love can survive the various difficulties this creates along the way.

These early chapters are characterised by an abundance of detail and ‘too much information’. A number of the conversations between characters in the book appear to be a vehicle for the author’s personal philosophy on life and love, and as a result come across as somewhat contrived and preachy.

However, the drama and conflict begin in earnest when Emma returns briefly to England and introduces Dominic to her snobbish mother and stoic father. Eventually there is a sudden and unforeseen turn of events, which helps to move the story along to a surprisingly satisfactory and realistic conclusion.

Falling – A love story

Jane Green

MacMillan