ELLIE AND THE HARPMAKER

A lonely housewife in Exmoor, England, befriends an eccentric—yet supremely handsome—harp maker in this debut novel, told in the alternating voices of its two protagonists.

Ellie, a few years shy of 40, writes poetry no one reads and keeps house for her loutish husband, Clive. She aspires to more. One day, strolling about the countryside, she comes upon the isolated lair of Dan, who makes beautiful wooden harps in his workshop/barn. Dan is immediately taken with Ellie—he especially likes her cherry-colored socks—and decides to give her a harp. Complications ensue. Clive insists she return the instrument—too generous a gift, he decrees. Instead, Ellie keeps it stashed at Dan’s and steals away to practice there. She also takes harp lessons from Dan’s erstwhile girlfriend, the glamorous Rhoda. Before long, Ellie uncovers a whopper of a secret about the two that will dramatically change everything. The author, a harpist herself, writes vividly about harp making as well as the natural world in which Dan thrives. And though the end of this fairy tale–like story is never in much doubt, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Yet too much of the plot is, well, preposterous—particularly where Dan is concerned. He’s supposed to be a stubborn yet pure-hearted naif but just seems socially inept and clueless. Dan registers shock upon learning Rhoda no longer considers herself his girlfriend—though they haven’t been intimate for years and rarely see one another. Similarly, Dan remains blithely oblivious to Clive’s wrath when the latter shows up with Ellie at the barn after finding out what’s been going on behind his back.

There are moments of oddball charm here—a pheasant named Phineas figures in several of them—but this is a trifle that tries too hard to warm the heart.