Death and all of its accoutrements are the stars of this novel, which reminded me of a rainy day with occasional breaks of sunshine. Not everyone dislikes gray, damp days, though, as long as they don't go on forever. The funeral of Caro Meredith, American wife of Robin and mother of Judy, sets the tone for the mood of "Next of Kin." Caro was an American, married to dairy farmer Robin for more than a quarter of a century when a brain tumor claimed her life. Atypically, this event doesn't inspire a series of flashbacks leading to the inevitable end of Caro's life, but rather propels the characters, the next of kin of the title, into a future without a woman who left an indelible mark on each of their lives. Robin seems both bewildered and accepting, the stoic, hard working man of the earth whose intimate relationship with his inscrutable wife had ended years before. Adopted daughter Judy is angry at her father, blaming him for Caro's apparent unhappiness and her own lack of direction. Robin's brother Joe, supposedly happily married to Lindsay, seems bereft at the loss of Caroline.
Judy brings her rommate, Zoe, a spiky, maroon-haired waif, along to Tideswell Farm for the weekend. This quirky young woman falls in love with farm life and becomes an unexpected catalyst for change and self-examination for the Meredith family. As in her other novels, Trollope is a master at developing real, flawed characters. Here she also does an admirable job of potraying the gritty hardships of farm life in the English midlands. Trollope specializes in immersion. Coming out of this book I felt like I had lived through it rather than just reading it. Depressing? Yes, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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