A review by thecosymoose
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

The Comet Seekers is the debut novel from author Helen Sedgwick, and it’s an astonishing book. 

The novel opens with Roisin, a scientist from Ireland, meeting Francois, a chef from Bayeaux, France, at a research station in Antartica. There’s a familiarity neither can explain. Overhead, a comet appears. 

The story is then told through flashbacks of both the main character’s lives, with snapshots of their family histories taken each time a comet appears,. For Roisin, we learn about her growing up in rural Ireland, her family relationships, and the forbidden love and loss, and her endless restlessness and need to search for answers.

 Francois’ story goes back even further. His mother sees the ghosts of her ancestors, talks with them, but they only appear in sync with comets. We flash back to historical comet appearances, going as far back as 1066 and the appearance of Halley’s Comet, captured in the Bayeaux Tapestry, as we learn about Francois’ ancestors, and their influence on his family and path through life. 

And as comets follow their trajectory and reappear, we circle back to Antartica to catch up with Roisin and Francois, as they deal with their own ghosts. 

The novel is beautifully written, the threads woven together to tell a story of love and loss, of dreams and reality.