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The Key The most gripping heartbreaking book of the year edition by Kathryn Hughes Literature Fiction eBooks

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The Key The most gripping heartbreaking book of the year edition by Kathryn Hughes Literature Fiction eBooks

This was my second Kathryn Hughes book and I was absolutely captivated by the story from the first page. I couldn't put it down. I was horrified at the way mentally ill people were treated just a short time ago and how a person could be committed for no reason other than the fact that they didn't fit in or behaved too emotionally after a traumatic experience. We've certainly come a long way in the U.S. and also, it appears, in the U.K. This is a story primarily about Amy, a woman committed to Ambergate Hospital (referred to as a lunatic assylum) , Ellen who was a student nurse there and Sarah, a historian who, many years later, was writing the history of the institution. All three women had strong personalities, were survivors and were very likable. I read a negative review by a reader who felt that the story was choppy but I disagree. The story unfolded very well even though the action shifted between the 1950s and 2006.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it will stay with me for a long time.


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The Key The most gripping heartbreaking book of the year edition by Kathryn Hughes Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

I. Was presently surprised to find how lovely this book came to an end. I have already purchased her book The Surprise. I am sure this book will be page Turner also!
Could have been a true story. As a society we have grown, hopefully we learn from our mistakes. I have heard and read that someone could be committed back then because the family did not want to bother. I am glad that is not the case today. Mostly we need more outpatient mental health care.
No to the first half and yes to the second half.
The first half of this book inspired me to pace around the room a lot and repeat to myself, "Why did I bother?" Sorry but as a Registered Nurse who worked in an institution for the developmentally disabled myself, the entire Student Nurse Crosby shtick came across as patently shallow. shallow, shallow. If nurses in1956 British institutions did little more than minimal care, run errands for the big nurse on the ward and occasionally said, "Yes sir, no sir," to the doctor, then why does the author even bother to pretend she's trying to depict an actual nurse? That's an aide and nothing more.
The plot of a "wrongly" institutionalized woman, Amy, was made interesting by mid-book once the illegitimate romance between Amy and the resident psychiatrist begins. Then the story shades into complexity and believability.
I did have huge difficulty identifying with Amy as "victim." She seemed more than just troubled to me even tho the author kept trying to excuse her murderous behavior.
The rendition at the end of the book of a developmentally disabled character rings very true and had a heartfelt impact on me.
That "happily ever after" did not occur in this book felt right on. Loved the book and author for that too.
Hip hopping from time period to time period and character to character is not my favorite style but the author made it relatively painless,
Thankfully, there weren't too many miraculous coincidences involved. I didn't have to suspend my belief too often.
Overall, once past the annoying beginning, I enjoyed the book enough that I am going to try The Letter next.
Three stars because it did finally become compelling and satisfying.
Having worked as a student nurse in a state run mental hospital in 1970 this story resonated so strongly with me. The patients were physically cared for but the love wasn't there for them. The characters were well developed & the story line was so accurate that I felt I was back in the state run hospital. Early in the 70's the state decided it was too costly to house all the patients & they were released, after many years of institutional living. The same thing seems to have happened in this story. So sad that, as in this book, many of the patients never should have been there in the first place.
3.5 stars -
We had a book club meeting about this book recently. Although the subject matter was difficult to read at times, it was well presented by the author, and we enjoyed the way the two time-frames were woven together, 1956 and 2006. The older time frame takes a look at how women were treated in the 50’s, as medical colleagues, or as patients in an insane asylum, not surprising if one lived during that time frame. Depression from a broken heart, or any other reason could land a woman or young girl in an insane asylum if her family couldn’t or didn’t want to deal with her. The methods used to treat afflictions were barbaric.

In 2006 there is a link to one of the patients that comes up when a suitcase is found by a woman investigating the old insane asylum. I liked this part of the novel best, how both time frames and well-constructed characters are brought together to bring readers to a satisfactory conclusion. I first read The Letter and loved it. I intend to read more by Kathryn Hughes, and recommend her work to anyone who likes a bit of a puzzle to domestic or historical fiction plot-lines.
I enjoyed this book a great deal. It was a little slow in the middle but picked up well. I could relate to the descriptions of an old psychiatric hospital as my first job was in such a hospital in the early 1970s. Thank goodness the care for people with mental health issues has improved! My main concern is that, several times, it was mentioned that Amy was not evil. "Evil" may be an unfortunate term and she may have had a traumatic background, but what she did certainly constituted someone deranged and dangerous. The end may have been a little fanciful but it brought everything together well.
This was my second Kathryn Hughes book and I was absolutely captivated by the story from the first page. I couldn't put it down. I was horrified at the way mentally ill people were treated just a short time ago and how a person could be committed for no reason other than the fact that they didn't fit in or behaved too emotionally after a traumatic experience. We've certainly come a long way in the U.S. and also, it appears, in the U.K. This is a story primarily about Amy, a woman committed to Ambergate Hospital (referred to as a lunatic assylum) , Ellen who was a student nurse there and Sarah, a historian who, many years later, was writing the history of the institution. All three women had strong personalities, were survivors and were very likable. I read a negative review by a reader who felt that the story was choppy but I disagree. The story unfolded very well even though the action shifted between the 1950s and 2006.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it will stay with me for a long time.