A historical look at the British family in troubled times

Some novels affect you greatly, some affect you for years and some you just never forget. Stuart Evers’ novel, The Blind Light will certainly be the later for me. Evers writes like a man twice his age, with wisdom, wit and knowledge that only comes from the best authors. All I can say to begin with is, yes read this novel. It’s brilliant.

At its core, the story follows two men who meet during their military service in England in the 1950’s. Drum and Carter would not have met in any other circumstances. Drum is a working class man, quiet and thoughtful. Carter is upper class, rich, outspoken and made for life. The book follows them throughout their lives making stops in each decade up until 2019. With such a long span of time it’s easy to get attached to the characters. From Drum and Carter, to their wives and their children who we get to see grow up into middle age and have children themselves. 

The main focus is on Drum’s side of the story but we get glimpses from his wife, Gwen’s point of view dotted among it. Another layer of detail is added with small exerts from fictional books and articles written by characters within the world of this book. They add often heartbreaking layers to the story.

The plot itself is centred around the two men’s fear of “the bomb”. During their time in the service, both were exposed to an area called “Doom Town”. An artificial town made to show the destruction of nuclear war. The streets filled with dummies of bodies, blasted out windows, even charred bank notes in broken pubs. After seeing it they are changed forever. They make an agreement to keep each other safe by keeping an eye out for any signs of nuclear war. Carter has his own connections and eventually his own bunker. It may sound silly by today’s life, to be living in constant fear of the bomb but back then, facing the Cuban missile crisis, then the Cold War it was a very real threat. 

Eventually Drum moves to live on a farm on Carter’s estate and his transition from city life to countryside dweller is incredible to read as his wife and family have to adjust alongside him. His decisions early on in the book affect his families lives later. I very much got East of Eden feelings from it.

Some of the lines in this book are absolutely poetic while others are raw and cutting, filled with emotion that almost makes the reader tremble. I took my time with it but it was hard to put down. There are events that seem meaningless at first but are actually set ups for events later in the book, it’s genius. I felt like I’ve lived a lifetime through it. It’s criminal that this book wasn’t included in the Booker’s long-list, and this is coming from someone who has read several works that were included. 

My summary is that this is a book that any reader can enjoy. It’s got romance, history, family, comedy and tragedy, don’t overlook it.

– A powerfully emotional story

– beautiful use of history and culture

-Characters that felt like family

5/5