The Long, Long Afternoon

Author: ​Inga Vesper
Publisher: Manilla Press
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
Transported back into the California of 1959, when the place of women was clearly defined ; marry, stay at home, bear children and pander to your husband, Inga Vesper’s debut novel is a ‘noir’ that explores yet another era of deplorable attitudes towards women, colour and class.
That this book has a punch is testament to Vesper’s excellent observation skills.  It hit me in my stomach and made me squirm with anger as Vesper recreates this life of 

heightened domesticity, ignorance and submission. For anyone who is a feminist this will really rattle you! In saying that, Vesper has skilfully opened this window and blown you into a world that we so wish was dead and buried.
What if you had ambitions beyond the ‘normal’ expectations? Had a talent that needed to be explored?  And if you didn’t quite fit the profile, well, a diagnosis of ‘nerves’ with the accompanying tranquiliser script could easily sweep that under the carpet. Some 70 years on, with feminism a strong part of our lives, the freedom to be who you are can still be out of reach in some countries. 
 All these elements are there as Vesper draws us into this seeming paradise and,  against the background of the Vietnam War,  she tightens her grip with every page.  You become at one with the characters, fighting for them or hating them, sympathising or simply dismissing their ignorance but Vesper’s exploration of the American soul is searing.  The scene is created with unnerving reality.
Sunnylakes development is not so sunny. It’s the American dream - middle class families with manicured lawns, perfect houses, perfect wives (or widows) perfect lives. I was reminded of ‘The Stepford Wives’ and ‘Valley of the Dolls’ as i read. And ‘Mad Men ‘certainly made an appearance. It is a patriarchal society but the undercurrents of jealousy, rivalry and ambition are about to tear apart this privileged community. When a wife goes missing slowly, inexorably the darkness begins to rise and, like a sharp knife, is set to rip out the secrets and the lies.
When Joyce Haney disappears it is the ‘help’ Ruby who is the first on the scene. In the manner of the racism of the time, she is held as a suspect because there’s an awful lot of blood in the kitchen. But there is no body.  Joyce has simply vanished, leaving her eldest child Barbara, shivering in the garden, ‘waiting’ and the baby Lily crying in her cot. Neighbourly Nancy Ingram rushes over to assist as the children are very familiar to her and she considers herself close to Joyce.
But it is Joyce’s voice that pitifully tells part of the tale. ‘I should not paint. Frank does not like it, even though Genevieve Crane says i have amazing talent. It’s a bad example to the kids, a mother who indulges when there are meal plans to be made and carpets to vacuum and flowers to be arranged. “ Makes you shudder!
And the search begins. Detective Mick Blanke is determined to see this case through, even though the bosses want a quick result, but it is his inherent kindness to Ruby that sees them reluctantly, at first, working together to solve this complex mystery. Vesper gives Ruby a sharp intellect and an ambitious streak, seeing much more than her ‘Madams’ would give her credit for and a passion for more out of life.  Cementing her relationship with the doughty detective is her ability to connect the clues. In fact, by the end of the book i was hoping to see more of this unlikely pair teamed up to solve more such mysteries!
The story does not let you go until the very end, with surprising and unexpected results.
There is eeriness about the book, an echo that does not sit quietly as we follow these women whose lives were so under control. It is a book about feminism and hope and the enlightened men who saw beyond prejudice and traditional roles.  I could not put it down. ​