by Patrick Gale  

There’s a delicious feeling to finding a new favourite author. Patrick Gale is mine, and I’m delighted to see that he’s published many more books for me to explore. This is a beautifully crafted tale, threading one man’s life through the births, lives and deaths of many others.  I like the author’s technique of focussing chapters on individual characters at various ages: ‘Lenny at 20’, Dorothy at 24’, Barnaby at 60’ and so forth, with Barnaby’s life being exposed in backward leaps  while the overall story moves forward. Rich with atmospheric descriptions of Cornwall and populated with a broad spectrum of well hewn characters, this is a hugely enjoyable read.

©Julia Welstead 2012