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A review by littlesophie
Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford
3.0
Spufford's latest left me a bit puzzled.
After setting up a dramatic prologue in which five children die during the Blitz bombing, he then goes on to tell these children's lives in episodes right up to the present. Sadly, it wasn't at all obvious to me, what the purpose of the prologue was. If he just meant to chronicle the nation's recent history through the biographies of a group of diverse people, why did they need to "die" in the Blitz first?
The various biographies were grippingly written and very entertaining. However, only getting glimpses of their lives and jumping forward decades in between means that my understanding of the various chracters tends to be a bit sketchy.
I enjoyed reading it, but ultimately I fail to see the point of some of the narrative decisions.
After setting up a dramatic prologue in which five children die during the Blitz bombing, he then goes on to tell these children's lives in episodes right up to the present. Sadly, it wasn't at all obvious to me, what the purpose of the prologue was. If he just meant to chronicle the nation's recent history through the biographies of a group of diverse people, why did they need to "die" in the Blitz first?
The various biographies were grippingly written and very entertaining. However, only getting glimpses of their lives and jumping forward decades in between means that my understanding of the various chracters tends to be a bit sketchy.
I enjoyed reading it, but ultimately I fail to see the point of some of the narrative decisions.