Matt McAvoy Book Review

As cosy as it gets, there is something particularly warm and nostalgic about the dual-timeline narrative of this simple yet poignant tale set in a fictional northern English village.  For such a short offering, it feels surprisingly profound and layered, particularly when the tales interlink.  This is a book which simultaneously both immerses us in its emotional depths while actually not laying the sentiment too thickly; it lets us make our own way there, with our own thoughts and feelings about the ambiguity of its characters and situations.  There are no real good people or bad people, and not really situations which are clearly right or wrong – although, that said, there does feel like a rather subtle allegory of the irreparable harm corporate business does to communities and the quaintness of culture.  It is primarily a study of people and their relationships to each other.  Of course, when the revelation comes, whilst not entirely surprising, it is still a bit of a shocker.

This is frankly a wonderful offering from Stephen Murphy, and I must say I enjoyed every moment of reading it.  Indeed, I couldn’t put it down; it just felt pleasant to be reading.  High melodrama it isn’t, nor mystery or suspense; even the drama is elegantly underplayed.  And that’s probably its greatest strength.  Stephen is an author who seems to like and respect his reader, and also clearly has a fondness for the world and the characters he has created.  He imparts his narrative with the same thoughtfulness and humanity one would imagine he has for it in his mind.  It was, in some ways, quite sad to leave this group, and I do hope, if he hasn’t already done so, that Stephen considers sharing more tales from Eschol.  There were, I felt, one or two loose ends – not out of any negligence on the author’s part, by any means, but rather because the interconnected tales of everyday life have a soapy feel – which I would love to revisit in another book, and perhaps one or two small teases or characters which could be expanded by their own stories.

All in all, a very enjoyable read for those who favour the simple, cosy drama of Sunday evening TV, in the mould of Heartbeat or Doc Martin.  Even if you don’t like that sort of thing, I recommend you take a break from the serious stuff and take a look at this clever, light-hearted drama.