A review by sadiesrobot
The Dark Circle by Linda Grant

3.0

I was pretty excited going into The Dark Circle, as I had heard it was essentially NHS fanfiction. That part is true, but I never really felt like the book delivered. We're set up with an interesting cast, but none of them seemed to really grow over the story. At the end the impression is that their lives are bleak rather than tragic - that they mostly continue living in the past, or in what could have been, into their old age. The idea of setting a novel in a tuberculosis sanatorium is brilliant, but I felt like the book never really chose an angle on it. Medical authoritarianism and institutional abuse are strong themes, but it feels like a real alternative is missing from the book.