An achingly poignant and touching read, and one that leaves you with a lingering wistful thoughtfulness as you turn the last page. Humans are abandoning and rats are taking over the small Scottish island of Eilean Fior, one guesthouse remains, clinging to life. Detailing four time periods between 1980 and 2002 the focus is on the McCloud family and their feelings of isolation, guilt, responsibility and in some cases, love for their home. The island, while the heart of the story, remains shyly in the background, this is very much a human tale about hidden emotions and feelings. The author has the ability to be extraordinarily expressive without an overflowing of descriptive detailing; he skilfully brings this family and their hopes and dreams to life. At times sorrowful and thought provoking, yet its core retains a beauty as this is a moving and eloquently emotional novel. ~ Liz Robinson
For similar reads:
The Railwayman’s Wife by Ashley Hay
The Carriage House by Louisa Hall.
| Primary Genre | Family Drama |
| Other Genres: |
Shortlisted for the Young Lions Fiction Award 2015 On Eilean Fior, a small island off the north-west coast of Scotland with twenty-eight inhabitants, the McClouds run a faltering guesthouse. A family business, it is expected that one of the three children will eventually take over. But Barry, Flora and Trevor all have their own ideas. In this nuanced and moving debut novel, Andrew Ladd weaves together a series of conjoined narratives which follow each of the McClouds as they struggle to find a balance between their feelings of obligation and their desire for personal freedom. At once a lyrically haunting and unforgettable elegy for lost world, What Ends is also a subtle family saga about change and regret - about the difference between feeling one is trapped and the reality of being so.
What Ends features in the following genres: Family Drama, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, General Fiction
What Ends is available in Paperback, Hardback
What Ends was written by Andrew Ladd and published by Oneworld Publications
What Ends has 272 pages
£8.09
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