This is an evocative novel about a soon to retire teacher that cleverly interconnects snapshots of his childhood and his life since but drawn to the front of his mind by events and thoughts in the here and now and particularly on the unexpected encounter with an old school friend, Sydney. Lewis feels unfulfilled as he approaches retirement, believing now, that his life would have been different if he'd chosen a more dramatic career. In each chapter we hear his thoughts; what he wanted, what he still wants but has never quite managed to grasp and what he's achieved and what he'd like to achieve. With simple yet eloquent writing from Man Booker shortlisted Alison Moore, the author describes relationships, much like any other, yet the focus is very much on unfulfilled dreams, wishes, desires. There are times you might feel a little frustrated by Lewis and want to shake, to shout, to implore him to get out and live his life. Whether he does or doesn't, only the reader will know but rest assured the ending will surprise.
Lewis Sullivan, an RE teacher at a secondary school, is approaching retirement when he wonders for the first time whether he ought to have chosen a more dramatic career. He lives in a village in the Midlands, less than a mile from the house in which he grew up. He always imagined living by the sea. His grown-up daughter visits every day, bringing soup. He does not want soup. He frequents his second-favourite pub, where he can get half a shandy, a speciality sausage and a bit of company. When an old friend appears on the scene, Lewis finds his routine and comfortable life shaken up.
Alison Moore's first novel, The Lighthouse, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Awards (New Writer of the Year), winning the McKitterick Prize. Both The Lighthouse and her second novel, He Wants, were Observer Books of the Year. Her shorter fiction has been included in Best British Short Stories and Best British Horror anthologies, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra and collected in The Pre-War House and Other Stories. Born in Manchester in 1971, she lives near Nottingham with her husband Dan and son Arthur.
