Instructions for a Heatwave

Instructions for a Heatwave (2013) by Maggie O'Farrell. This novel is set in 1976, a time when England was, indeed, suffering a heatwave. There were water shortages, and laws were passed in an effort to conserve water. It is against this background that Robert, an old retired geezer, leaves his wife Gretta back at the house as he goes out to get a newspaper. Only this time, Robert doesn't come back. He disappears, and the rest of the book is spent with Gretta and her three grown children -- Michael Francis, Monica and Aoife -- trying to find him. In the meantime, each of Gretta's children has issues of their own to work out, and in the course of the book they do get worked out -- for good or ill. It's an interesting read, and very skillfully written. No matters of great moment are discussed in this book -- it's just one family, with their own peculiarities, irritating each other and working out their differences. The main problem I had with it was the daughter named Aoife. I never could remember how to pronounce her name. Grade: A-