No, it wasn't all a dream Archived Message Posted by SueC on December 10, 2019, 12:23 am, in reply to "Preposterous guff" I think you may have misinterpreted the storyline - having read the book, it's definitely not 'all a dream'. The old lady begins by believing that Elizabeth, her oldest friend, is missing. In reality, of course, she's suffered some sort of seizure and is hospitalised. The old lady has been told this but has been wandering for a while in dementia's dark woods and so cannot remember what has happened to her friend. The longterm memory of dementia sufferers is often much more acute than their short-term one and this gives rise to the dual plot line. Elizabeth is not the only one missing; the old lady's sister disappeared in the 1940's and was never found. While searching for Elizabeth, it is her sister's disappearance she solves - murdered by her husband out of jealousy and buried in Elizabeth's garden which was where her sister and husband were planning to live. As for the language used, yes, it is realistic reflecting the utter frustration of trying to cope day after day with someone suffering from dementia, by turns having periods of lucidity, being highly aggressive, sometimes even violent, abusive, withdrawn etc. Message Thread: Glenda Jackson - Mary December 8, 2019, 10:17 pm Re: Glenda Jackson - Ed December 8, 2019, 10:26 pm Re: Glenda Jackson - ceemac666 December 9, 2019, 12:12 am Re: Glenda Jackson - Mary December 9, 2019, 7:04 am Preposterous guff - scrabb December 9, 2019, 12:47 pm Re: Preposterous guff - ceemac666 December 9, 2019, 1:55 pm Re: Preposterous guff - AlanG December 9, 2019, 2:35 pm Re: Preposterous guff - ceemac666 December 10, 2019, 3:02 am Who's she? - scrabb December 9, 2019, 11:23 pm Re: Who's she? - ceemac666 December 10, 2019, 3:06 am No, it wasn't all a dream - SueC December 10, 2019, 12:23 am Re: No, it wasn't all a dream - scrabb December 10, 2019, 9:37 pm   Searching