This is the first of Christy Lefteri's books that I've read and I'm not sure I'd rush find others. There's no doubt that this is an extremely topical and thought provoking book but there's just something about the writing style that left me feeling cold.
The main character/narrator is Irini and we first meet her as she finds the body of a man who is widely regarded to have caused a recent, devastating wild fire. Except when she finds him he's still, just about, alive and she does nothing to save him.
What follows is a story of the blaze, recovery, guilt and healing. It's told in many different ways though. We have flashbacks to the past and how Irini met her husband, Tasso. Then we have a present day narrative which deals with her guilt over the body and examines the circumstances of the man's death. Then there is "The Book of Fire" - Irini's written account of living through/surviving the fire, a book within a book so to speak.
I think it's this multi stranded nature of writing that I struggled with. I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters and felt certain elements repetitive.
Nevertheless it's an important story which touches on the current climate crisis and the devastating impact our changing planet is having on ordinary lives.
The main character/narrator is Irini and we first meet her as she finds the body of a man who is widely regarded to have caused a recent, devastating wild fire. Except when she finds him he's still, just about, alive and she does nothing to save him.
What follows is a story of the blaze, recovery, guilt and healing. It's told in many different ways though. We have flashbacks to the past and how Irini met her husband, Tasso. Then we have a present day narrative which deals with her guilt over the body and examines the circumstances of the man's death. Then there is "The Book of Fire" - Irini's written account of living through/surviving the fire, a book within a book so to speak.
I think it's this multi stranded nature of writing that I struggled with. I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters and felt certain elements repetitive.
Nevertheless it's an important story which touches on the current climate crisis and the devastating impact our changing planet is having on ordinary lives.