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A review by charlottereadsthings
My Policeman by Bethan Roberts
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Like probably many, I came to My Policeman following on from watching the Amazon Prime adaptation.
One theme of this story that I haven't been able to shake is the devestating notion of wasted/lost time. Just the idea of "if only this thing was different then imagine what my life could have been."
My Policeman is split into two timelines: Marian talking to present day Patrick about how she met Tom and all their adventures together as a trio in the past, and Patrick's diary entries from the time. While very much infuriating, I find Marian a very complex and interesting character, so it was interesting to see those gaps from the film filled in by getting a deeper insight into her perspective of the world and the situations she finds herself in.
I wish there was more of Patrick's diaries as I found those sections the most enjoyable to read and they really hammered home how difficult it was to be LGBT at the time.
Ehat I found interesting (and something I wish I could ask the author about) is that, while Tom is central to a lot of the emotions in the story, we don't get to read his direct perspective. He seems to exist on the outskirts which I guess could be seen as feeding into how he keeps himself iscolated because of his own feelings.
This book is beautiful and definitely wort a read.
One theme of this story that I haven't been able to shake is the devestating notion of wasted/lost time. Just the idea of "if only this thing was different then imagine what my life could have been."
My Policeman is split into two timelines: Marian talking to present day Patrick about how she met Tom and all their adventures together as a trio in the past, and Patrick's diary entries from the time. While very much infuriating, I find Marian a very complex and interesting character, so it was interesting to see those gaps from the film filled in by getting a deeper insight into her perspective of the world and the situations she finds herself in.
I wish there was more of Patrick's diaries as I found those sections the most enjoyable to read and they really hammered home how difficult it was to be LGBT at the time.
Ehat I found interesting (and something I wish I could ask the author about) is that, while Tom is central to a lot of the emotions in the story, we don't get to read his direct perspective. He seems to exist on the outskirts which I guess could be seen as feeding into how he keeps himself iscolated because of his own feelings.
This book is beautiful and definitely wort a read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Homophobia