I've enjoyed Stuart Evers' short story collections so was really looking forward to reading his novel, 'The Blind Light'. It tells the story of Drummond and the two people who become a major part of his life; Gwen and Carter. Told over many decades, it also features Drum and Gwen's children, Nathan and Anneka, who also feature heavily in the story as their lives intertwine with those of Carter and his family.
This is a novel that you need to persevere with. The class divide between Carter and Drum is a major theme throughout the novel, and many of the characters aren't particularly likeable (though that might be Evers' point). That proved to be a major sticking point for me - I didn't like the characters, and so even though I liked the story, it was a bit of a chore to read it to the end. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to review the novel, I would've stopped reading it. But if you like a story that takes place over many decades with flawed characters then you might enjoy 'The Blind Light'.
Bonus point to Stuart Evers for using Welsh in his novel - always great to see our language feature in English novels. Diolch (thank you) Stuart!
This is a novel that you need to persevere with. The class divide between Carter and Drum is a major theme throughout the novel, and many of the characters aren't particularly likeable (though that might be Evers' point). That proved to be a major sticking point for me - I didn't like the characters, and so even though I liked the story, it was a bit of a chore to read it to the end. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to review the novel, I would've stopped reading it. But if you like a story that takes place over many decades with flawed characters then you might enjoy 'The Blind Light'.
Bonus point to Stuart Evers for using Welsh in his novel - always great to see our language feature in English novels. Diolch (thank you) Stuart!