A mixed-up woman leaves her husband and skips off to
London. Initially named Emily, one of twins, this lady
renames herself Catherine. She leaves the husband she met
while skydiving, in Manchester and finds a small, grotty
flat in a run-down London area, having cleaned out her bank
account and brought her passport. Why would she do this?
ONE STEP TOO FAR follows Catherine as she meets her new
eccentric housemates, remodels her sparse tatty room into
an Ikea look, drinks a lot of vodka, reflects on her past.
She's had an unloved childhood and her twin was
hospitalised with anorexia, then developed a personality
disorder. The Finsbury flat kitchen borders on the
infamous scene from 'Withnail and I', while Catherine has a
vague idea of working as a receptionist and has already set
herself up with a new e-mail account but has to find an
internet cafe to use it. Her new life is not going to be
easy.
Finding herself, with the help of lively housemate Angel,
shoplifting clothes and taking cocaine, Catherine yet gets
ahead in an advertising firm and the two move to a better
flat. Interspersed we see her twin Caroline on the day when
a nail-bomb explodes in a busy bar and she sits for forty
minutes while her boyfriend helps the injured, then accuses
him of abandoning her. Meanwhile Ben, Catherine's husband,
is showing her photo to people, trying to come to terms
with the fact that his wife has deliberately vanished.
Tina Seskis has written a carefully linked story of
contrasts and generations, of insanity and family, and one
woman's struggle to save her own identity. This is not the
London of the postcards, the royal weddings, this is grimy,
sweaty and crowded, a merging of people and unhappiness and
city sprawl. ONE STEP TOO FAR will reward the more
thoughtful reader who wants to get inside the skin of the
characters, smell the vodka, feel the pain, shake to the
music.
An apparently happy marriage. A beautiful son. A lovely
home. So what makes Emily Coleman get up one morning and
walk right out of her life to start all over again? Has she
had a breakdown? Was it to escape her dysfunctional family -
especially her flawed twin sister Caroline who always seemed
to hate her? And what is the date that looms, threatening to
force her to confront her past? No-one has ever guessed her
secret. Will you?
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