Eternities sent Alaric and Naia back to a Withern Rise of their grandfather’s childhood, where a tragic accident left its mark on the family. Each section of The Underwood See begins with a continuing description of thirty-two year-old Naia, forever marked by the switch in realities which only she re members, driving home to Withern Rise to give birth to a baby. The events between these short sections take place in at least eight parallel realities and concern the divergent fates of several Alarics and his sets of parents. The writing is vivid and sure, but the splintering of characters prevents emotional engagement with them. The series’s greatest strength is its precise and loving description of one small patch of land in Great Britain and the people who may have resided there. Sequels are Small Eternities (Greenwillow, 2005) and The Underwood See (Greenwillow, 2007) . mac

Originally published by Orchard Books Great Britain, in 2003.