Sara Berkekley first came to prominence as a poet in the 1980s and was hailed as one of the most promising talents of her generation. A collection of short stories followed in 1992, and Shadowing Hannah, her first novel, finds her continuing the foray into fictional territory. While the transition from poet to novelist can be a difficult one, Berkeley makes it gracefully. Her writing is fluid and easy, her dialogue believable. In Shadowing Hannah she has constructed a plot that is both controversial and darkly captivating, with incest, that greatest of taboos, at its core.
Hannah Newell, 19 years old and recently arrived in London, is escaping her life back in Dublin and, more importantly, a passionate sexual relationship with her older brother Rene. The two whet their desire - and torment - with a feverish correspondence, which sustains Hannah at the outset but inevitably becomes torturous as guilt engulfs her and outside forces threaten to expose her secret. Yet while fear and shame grow inside, to the outside world Hannah seems to be blossoming. Friends, boyfriends and new opportunities open up to her, bringing confidence and respite from the guilt, and the benign influence of uncle Hugh provides the rock on which she eventually begins to steady herself.
Indeed, Berkeley is adept at capturing the vivid excitement of a girl living out of home for the first time, meeting new people and falling in love with London in summertime without reducing it to formulaic party scenes and cringe-inducing `youth' speak. Still, the menace of discovery is always present and nightmares, panic attacks and ever more unhinged letters from Rene bring the dark undercurrent closer and closer to the surface.
Berkeley handles her subject with sensitivity and skill, at once highlighting the disturbing reality of the situation (we find out that Hannah was just 13 when the relationship began) and, through Rene, questioning the prevailing attitudes to incest. Questions of power are also addressed: on the one hand, Rene's seniority provokes concern - has he robbed Hannah of her innocence? Is this abuse? At the same time, Hannah is as intoxicated by the relationship as he, often playing the role of seducer, and it is ultimately Rene who emerges damaged.
Among the tender character-portrayals and keen observations, there is the odd weak link: Uncle Hugh's lost love story is slightly over-sentimental, and Hannah's eventual salvation, in the form of a ticket to America, is just a little too neat to be credible, but these are small quibbles in a book that is ultimately rewarding. In the end, Shadowing Hannah is a gripping story and an intelligent look at a subject too often shrouded by taboo and hysteria.
Catherine Heaney is books editor for Image magazine