Bit of an unusual one this as its a self-published effort by a first time author, but I've been reading a novel called The Water Tower over Xmas. A friend recommended it to me because she knows the chap who wrote it. It sat on my bookshelf (well my tablet) for a month or so before I finally got round to it (mostly me thinking 'oh yeah that sounds okay, I'll check it out at some point'). When I did, I was totally engrossed. Ploughed through both books (its spread over two volumes due to length) over the past couple of weeks and the whole thing left quite an impression on me.
Its certainly a long read (and like any self-published piece could probably use an edit here and there), but its a very profound bit of writing. The whole thing is a commentary on how we're all affected by grief and loss. You get the sense that the author has gone through that grieving process relatively recently, the sense of absence he's feeling bleeds off the pages sometimes. It's all couched in a love story (to spare your blushes, there are some very forthright sex scenes in there) that unfolds as a group of villagers band together to save the local water tower, which is under threat of demolition. There's quite a cast of characters, but none of them feel two dimensional, they're all well defined and thought out.
Fair warning, there are some seriously dark motifs in there (one character is a self-harmer, and there's some very upfront description about her self-inflicted injuries early on), while the first couple of chapters involve some quite dense exposition, but I found it well worth sticking with. It blossoms into something very poignant and quite beautiful that definitely robbed me of my dry eyes by the end.
It is also very cleverly written. There are detours away from the main narrative which treat the reader to newspaper reports, internet posts, and even song lyrics written by some of the characters, as well as some flashbacks which slowly and gradually reveal what happened to one of the two protagonists before the start of the novel and how they ended up where they are now. The final twist is one that I didn't see coming.
Anyway, I bought it from Amazon (not sure if its up anywhere else) but if you're looking for something new and interesting (admittedly that isn't a 'light' read), I found this unexpectedly enjoyable.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09JZJWLBF?binding=kindle_edition&tag=mumsnetforu03-21
Sinead x