From Goodreads
WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 2015
1976: Peggy Hillcoat is eight. She spends her summer camping with her father, playing her beloved record of The Railway Children and listening to her mother's grand piano, but her pretty life is about to change.
Her survivalist father, who has been stockpiling provisions for the end which is surely coming soon, takes her from London to a cabin in a remote European forest. There he tells Peggy the rest of the world has disappeared.
Her life is reduced to a piano which makes music but no sound, a forest where all that grows is a means of survival. And a tiny wooden hut that is Everything.
My thoughts
7/10 or 3.5 stars from me after finishing reading the book. However, I'm now going to change that to 8/10 or 4 stars and I'll explain why in the review.
I'm posting this review in September, several months after having read the book. Initially I couldn't remember what the book was about just by the title, but having read the synopsis of it on Goodreads it soon came flooding back. Being able to remember it by a little prompting is the sign of a good book and as a result of this I've decided to alter my initial score of it.
Peggy's family belong to an almost cult like group of followers who believe in the Survivalist theory and way of life. Her father to be fair was more in to that way of life than her Mother. As certain events occurred in Peggy's life she finds herself waking up day after day in a cabin in remote countryside. She is living a solitary life with her Father.
Told in a dual time frame style we are fed what happened in the life of the young Peggy and then as the older teenage Peggy. We learn what had led to them living in this way. Peggy as a child was naïve and very trusting, as any child would be were their Parents were concerned. As children our lives completely revolve around our Parents and we trust them implicitly. So at the age of 8 you wouldn't question what your Parents told you.
I really would rather not go into the plot too much as I don't wish to give away too much and fear that I'd inadvertently give away something I shouldn't.
This would make a great reading group read in my opinion. It's a slow burner and is extremely thought provoking.
My thoughts
7/10 or 3.5 stars from me after finishing reading the book. However, I'm now going to change that to 8/10 or 4 stars and I'll explain why in the review.
I'm posting this review in September, several months after having read the book. Initially I couldn't remember what the book was about just by the title, but having read the synopsis of it on Goodreads it soon came flooding back. Being able to remember it by a little prompting is the sign of a good book and as a result of this I've decided to alter my initial score of it.
Peggy's family belong to an almost cult like group of followers who believe in the Survivalist theory and way of life. Her father to be fair was more in to that way of life than her Mother. As certain events occurred in Peggy's life she finds herself waking up day after day in a cabin in remote countryside. She is living a solitary life with her Father.
Told in a dual time frame style we are fed what happened in the life of the young Peggy and then as the older teenage Peggy. We learn what had led to them living in this way. Peggy as a child was naïve and very trusting, as any child would be were their Parents were concerned. As children our lives completely revolve around our Parents and we trust them implicitly. So at the age of 8 you wouldn't question what your Parents told you.
I really would rather not go into the plot too much as I don't wish to give away too much and fear that I'd inadvertently give away something I shouldn't.
This would make a great reading group read in my opinion. It's a slow burner and is extremely thought provoking.
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