From Booklist
In 1946 a demobilized British officer oversees the demolishing of a defunct lighthouse in the Wash, a marshy area on England's west coast. Mercer, unhappy with his work crew and lonely staying in the remains of an old building on the site, attempts to get to know some of the local residents. His efforts meet with varied levels of acceptance and hostility. Mercer complicates his relationship with the locals by cultivating friendships with a German POW, who wants to remain in England after the war, and a Dutch Jew, who is haunted by memories of the sister he couldn't save in the concentration camps. Tensions caused by the implications of Mercer's project and by the presence of "foreigners" in this isolated English area ultimately erupt in cruelty and violence. Masterful depictions of the landscape and a talent for creating memorable characters balance Edric's predilection for philosophical dialogue and a predictable ending. He artfully integrates complex issues of class, racial guilt, and prejudice into a satisfying fictional experience that will definitely please Anglophile readers.
Ellen LoughranCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
“Edric is one of those immensely skilled novelists who seems fated to be discovered insultingly late in a productive career when caught in the arbitrary spotlight of Booker nomination or television adaptation. Booksellers take note: this is a writer to put into the hands of people looking for ‘someone new’.” -- Patrick Gale,
Independent
