Der Roman besteht aus 29 eher kürzeren Kapiteln. Erzählt wird überwiegend aus der Sicht von Marigold, aber auch aus anderen Perspektiven. Der Aufbau funktioniert gut. But concerns start to creep in when Marigold begins to forget things. She leaves her handbag in the church pew. She forgets to post customers’ parcels. She points painter Daisy in the direction of an artshop that has been shut down for over twenty years … It’s about a family and a community coming together and rising to become their better selves when a much beloved member of the village gets dementia. It’s funny but also sad – mostly, it’s about love and learning to live in the moment. Have you always wanted to be an author? I also feel this way about the other members of Marigold's family. Dennis just has a heart fo gold and you can tell he is absolutely besotted by his wife. I enjoyed meeting Daisy and Suze. I wasn't sure about them to begin with but their lives are very real and very like my own and I totally warmed to them and lived this whole story line through their eyes. Then we have Nan who is definitely hard to like but when you get down to the roots of her ways, you can see that she does have her daughter's best interests at heart.

Montefiore is married to the writer and historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. They were brought together by the historian Andrew Roberts, who thought "they would be absolutely perfect for each other because they were the only two people he knew who could remember the words to Evita off by heart". [6] She says of their marriage: [5]

Synopsis

Om er toch nog een positieve noot in te steken: de laatste 20 p… daar zat wat meer actie en schwung en gevoel in maar langs de andere kant was dat dan weer ne TGV die ineens vertrok en op nog geen twee jaar tijd was ineens iedereen getrouwd en waren er koters of meerdere in het spel. Enfin. Oja misschien twee positieve noten : er werd een kat doodgebeten. Naar mijn gevoel het enige actiepunt uit het verhaal. Die Autorin versteht es das ernste Thema Demenz mit guter Unterhaltung zu kombinieren. Sie schafft es die Ängste und Hilflosigkeit von Marigold selbst, aber auch von Familie und Freunden authentisch darzustellen, ohne kitschig zu werden. Das hübsche Cover hat zwar nur einen indirekten inhaltlichen Bezug, gefällt mir allerdings gut. Der deutsche Titel ist etwas irreführend, da es nicht nur um Marigolds Töchter, sondern auch um sie selbst geht. In diesem Fall ist das englischsprachige Original („Here and Now“) treffender. Der Fokus der Geschichte liegt vorwiegend auf Marigold, einer sympathischen, aber auch recht gutmütigen, teils sogar etwas naiv anmutenden Protagonistin. Auch weitere interessante Charaktere, allen voran die Töchter Daisy und Suze, tauchen auf. Ihre Gedanken und Gefühle lassen sich sehr gut nachvollziehen.

Kind, happy, warm-hearted Marigold captured my heart from the outset – no-one could help from loving her. Her family are equally engaging – none of them perfect (except perhaps the delightful Dennis) but all strong and resourceful in their own way. Acerbic-tongued Nan struggles most to accept her daughter’s condition, but is always supportive and dizzy Suze rises to the challenge. But it’s Daisy, perhaps, who is affected most. With Luca in the past, and her mother’s needs filling the present and future, it seems her dreams of marriage and a family are in tatters. Her determination to put family responsibility first is admirable. Dementia can be a sensitive subject and Montefiore writes about it with the elegance and grace exactly like her other ‘happy’ books. I would never normally read a book based on this subject purely because I am quite an emotional person, it does not take much to make me cry, and a book like this would send me in a ‘spin’ for days. The reason I chose to read this one however, is purely that I know Montefiore is such a beautiful writer, I knew it would be a wonderful story albeit a heart-breaking one. I find Dementia so frightful and sad I cannot contemplate how people manage to cope when somebody they love has the disease and Montefiore shows pure strength in her group of characters. The sub-plots in the story are a welcome relief when you feel the tears starting to form and are a welcome distraction when reading this book and I find it is written with such love and tactfulness.

I think the portrayal of dementia and how it affects individuals and communities is realistic overall, covering topics such as denial, stigma, diagnosis, support and conflicting priorities. ‘When one of Marigold’s daughters states that dementia isn’t a disease – which is true of dementia in itself – part of me wanted the book to go on to explain that dementia is caused by diseases that affect the brain. However, it is a novel and not a factsheet, I suppose!

As Marigold's condition worsens, for the first time in their lives her family must find ways to care for the woman who has always cared for them. Desperate to show their support, the local community come together to celebrate Marigold, and to show her that losing your memories doesn't matter, when there are people who will remember them for you . . . We learn how adult daughters might feel about a parent who needs extra attention and may not be able to continue in their care-giving role. We understand more about how a partner of someone with dementia might feel when faced with a changing relationship, and of course we also find out how Marigold herself responds and reacts to her changing situation.I was going to start this review with saying how lovely this book is, however, I do not think ‘lovely’ is the right word to use. So, let us try again, the characters are lovely, the village that the book is set in is lovely, however the subject is not lovely, in fact it is quite harrowing, and this book will send you on an emotional journey. If you are not hard hearted, then be warned this book WILL make you cry. Sante Montefiore heeft met Naar de overkant weer een heerlijke roman geschreven. Vanaf het begin af aan zit je meteen goed in het verhaal, je wordt als lezer eigenlijk direct opgenomen in het gezin van Marigold en het plattelandse dorpje waar ze wonen. Marigold staat centraal in het verhaal, maar haar man Dennis en twee dochters Suze en Daisy spelen ook een belangrijke rol. Ze hebben allemaal hun eigen verhaallijn binnen het grotere geheel waardoor het verhaal speels blijft. Marigold maakt echter wel de meeste indruk binnen Naar de overkant. Moeder van twee dochters en eigenaresse van een winkeltje in het dorp wat ze met veel passie runt. Wanneer ze op een gegeven moment dingen begint te vergeten, wordt dit op haar leeftijd gegooid. Het wordt echter al meer, totdat de diagnose Alzheimer vastgesteld wordt. De langzame achteruitgang hierna wordt heel mooi beschreven door Sante Montefiore. Niet alleen het proces wat Marigold zelf meemaakt, maar ook wat dit voor invloed heeft op de rest van het gezin. Op welke manier ze proberen haar te helpen om toch nog zo zelfstandig mogelijk te kunnen zijn. Maar ook het moment dat Marigold niet meer thuis kan wonen en op een gegeven moment haar man niet meer herkent. Dit wordt op een zeer intense manier beschreven. Liefde is dan ook het centrale thema in het verhaal, de onvoorwaardelijke liefde tussen Dennis en Marigold, maar ook de liefde die Suze en Daisy hebben in hun relatie met hun partner. Caroline says, ‘Without giving too much of the plot away, the story is entertaining but also provides refreshing ideas about taking opportunities, appreciating people and family relationships. Linda/Vancouver/Langley/BC/Canada 6 stars for a beauty such as this book. All about life. Please read this book. Could be you or I.