It is 1953 in Canvey Island. Len and Violet are at a dance. Violet's husband, George sits and watches them sway and glide across the dance floor, his mind far away, trapped by a war that ended nearly ten years ago. Meanwhile, at home, a storm rages and Len's wife, Lily and his young son, Martin fight for their lives in the raging black torrent. The night ends in a tragedy that will reverberate through their lives. This poignant novel follows the family's fortunes from the austerity of the post-war years to Churchill's funeral, from Greenham Common to the onset of Thatcherism and beyond, eloquently capturing the very essence of a transforming England in the decades after the war. It is a triumph of understated emotion, a novel about growing up and growing old, about love, hope and reconciliation.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
`I had hours of understated pleasure with Runcie's Canvey Island' -- Helena Drysdale, New Statesman, `Books of the Year'
`Runcie writes with an excellent feeling for time and place, and,
above all, the intensity of ordinary lives' -- Choice
`Runcie's third novel is a funny, epic, moving story of Thameside
folk ... a beautifully observed, tragi-comic work' -- What's On In London
`This book had me hooked before the end of the first sentence, and
its characters stayed with me for weeks afterwards ... excellent' -- Wendy James, New Books
`This is an accomplished, restrained novel of class and personal
conflict, with some great lines and a lovely eye for period detail' -- Robert Colvile, Observer
From the Publisher:
This is a moving family saga and a rich portrait of
contemporary England
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBloomsbury Paperbacks
- Publication date2007
- ISBN 10 0747585830
- ISBN 13 9780747585831
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages320
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Rating