A neglected teenage girl connects with an older sectarian woman who reveals a secret that precipitates a devastating series of events.
Natalie Baron is a neglected teenager adrift in the world when she attaches herself to Barbara Hern and her family, followers of Envallism, an extreme Protestant sect. Their new relationship fulfills unmet needs for both women-and leads to a devastating series of events that forever changes the course of their lives. Years later, Natalie, now a well-respected academic, travels to Finland in an attempt to understand the origins of Envallism as well as her own past. The Story of My Face is both a gripping psychological thriller and the archaeology of an accident which shaped a life.
Praise for Kathy Page
"Quietly powerful, with considerable emotional depth: an intriguing account of tortured faith and thwarted desire." -Kirkus Reviews
"One of the most compelling, unsettling novels I've read in ages, which should appeal to fans of classy thrillers and literary fiction alike."-Sarah Waters
"[Page's] writing, mostly in the present tense, is lit with an immediate sense of period, summoning images which are by turns softly painterly, sharply filmic or as murky as those first television images of the moon landing." -Aisling Foster, TLS
"Incredibly evocative and haunting.. it keeps you reading, wanting to uncover both Natalie's past and that of Tuomas Envall." -Clare Heal, Sunday Express
"An elegantly compelling story of how a young girl's obsession forever changes the lives of those around her.. a disciplined exploration of the complexity of human motivation and our need for redemption." - Lynne Van Luven , Vancouver Sun
"a most impressive achievement." -Jessica Mann, Daily Telegraph
"A compelling and unpredictable journey? beautifully written, rolls on at a rapid pace and delivers a satisfying punch at the end." -Christine Pountney, Toronto Star
"A moving, absorbing story?Kathy Page writes beautifully." -Helen Dunmore (author of A Spell of Winter)
