Mr B's review

‘Paula’ explores the relationship between the narrator, her mother, and her grandmother in a tone reminiscent of Ditlevsen but focussed more on the interior lives of these three women. How is silence passed down the generations, and to what degree has it been a manifestation of fear, or a means of control? Hoffmann articulates these questions and her answering calls in elegant and smooth prose, pulling at the threads which often bind a family’s present, past, and future. – Tess