Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
A simply beautiful, haunting read. A teenage girl on holiday goes missing in the hills during midwinter in the early years of this century, but while the search for the missing girl goes on, so does everyday life. This latest novel from Nottingham’s Jon McGregor tells the story of the many lives affected by one family’s loss; of the rhythms of the natural world and the repeated human gift for violence, unfolding over thirteen years as the aftershocks of a stranger’s tragedy refuse to subside. Hardback, Fourth Estate, £14.99
(Buy now from www.nottinghambooks.co.uk)
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Recently out in paperback, Sarah Perry’s second novel, a gothic tale inspired by a local legend, was one of last year’s best sellers. It has now just won the Overall Book of the Year and Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2017 (Nibbies) as well as being longlisted for the 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Set in the 1890’s, and enlivened by the debates on scientific and medical discovery which defined the era, The Essex Serpent has at its heart the story of two extraordinary people, who fall for each other, but not in the usual way. They are Cora Seaborne, a well-to do London widow, who moves to the Essex parish of Aldwinter and Will Ransome, the local vicar. They meet as their village is engulfed by rumours that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist is enthralled, convinced the beast may be a real undiscovered species, but Will sees his parishioners’ agitation as a moral panic, a deviation from true faith. Although they can agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and then torn apart. Paperback, Serpent’s Tail, £8.99
A great book for Reading Groups!