Patrick Gale

This is a powerful novel, gently written. The character of Harry Cane is revealed slowly, we get to know him as we would if we were to meet him, by his gradually revealing himself to us.

He's a gentleman of leisure at the turn of the last century, living an amiable, if somewhat purposeless life. A damaging scandal puts an end to all that, and he's forced into the harsh but ultimately rewarding life of a hardy homesteader on the as-yet-untamed Canadian Prairies.

The novel tacks between past and less-distant past to flesh out our understanding of the narrative. You'll like Harry Cane and sympathise with him. You'll like and believe in the other main characters too, possibly even the villain of the piece. I wonder though, if like me, you'll find the next-to-last chapter less than convincing? The only flaw in an otherwise thoroughly satisfying read.… (mer)

A wonderful book, in which the reader has to pick through the layers of narrative. Each chapter begins with the curator's notes for the posthumous exhibition of works by bi-polar Rachel Kelly. Each layer is narrated from the standpoint of a different character: there's Rachel herself, her husband Anthony, and the 4 children, Garfield, Morwenna, Hedley and Petroc, oh and Winnie too, eventually. In many ways, these layers are revealed backwards. We begin with Rachel's death, and gradually her complicated story, and the almost equally complicated family life of the others starts to make sense. The challenges of living with someone with a depressive psychiatric condition, the underlying strength that the family's Quaker faith brings to them, the sense of place - this book is firmly based in the Cornwall that Gale loves so much - all add to a book which tells a gripping story in a sympathetic, compassionate and involving way.… (mer)

As I was reading this, I felt this wasn't Patrick Gale at the top of his form. It's a cleverly crafted book, exploring a love affair between two people who'd been in a relationship at University, where they had eventually split up, through the passage of a single day. This was a successful device, through which we learnt the back stories of the main protagonists - all believable, flawed and individual - and began to understand what made them tick. I could have done without some of the discussion of the research into HIV and into Laura's mother's academic career - it seemed unnecessary, but this is a minor quibble. The book redeemed itself in its ending, which brought all the strands together in a believable way. I'm holding back on the adjectives, not to be guilty of a spoiler alert. I'm giving this book three stars, because I hold Gale to very high standards. Written by someone else, I might have given it four.… (mer)