I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eh. That is all I have. There was a guy who showed up and read books, then he left. There was a climate emergency. All the books are burned.

Eh.

What a unique and magical little book. I truly enjoyed this story that was fun, interesting, and just all around enjoyable to read,

I downloaded the ARC of this novella just when the Covid-19 lockdown hit, and then found I was not in the mood for even the gentlest of dystopian fiction.

Returning to it today, when I know I will be seeing the people I love again later, I was able to take it in its intended light, as a humorous take on the ending of our world as we know it, and an allegory of the need that humans have - have always had - for stories.

I'll be recommending this to all of my library friends - the Swindon Library is a star at the heart of this story of a mysterious man who arrives in town, checks into a local B&B and then takes to his bed and reads. He gives lists to his hosts of books to acquire from the library, and the narrator and her friends fall over themselves to fulfill his requests, reading the books themselves. The reader becomes a local celebrity and soon everyone in town wants to read too. I particularly love this vignette:

"At first, everyone at the library had been thrilled that so many people were taking out books, but then a man in Lydiard Millicent fell down the stairs while reading and broke his neck. Soon the librarians' delight turned to worry as there were hardly any books left on the shelves."

In her afterword, Alice Jolly talks about how members of the Swindon public library bookgroup contributed both book suggestions and ideas for the story, and I can't help but think one of the librarians may have had a hand. Although perhaps one went a little too far, because there is also this brilliant passage that made the cataloguer inside my soul laugh aloud:

"At our last book group, Susan told us more than we wanted to know about the Dewey Decimal System."

Rookie error, Susan. I spend my life talking about my garden at social gatherings because no-one - not even I - cares about Dewey.

Joking aside, both the main text and the afterword are absolute joys. I hope this will not be Alice Jolly's last library-based collaborative project, as she comes across as someone who really knows how to work in the setting. I'll be recommending her book, and her, to my friends across the library community, and think it only fitting to end this review with her words:

"I feel that I own the words but that the reader owns the white spaces around the words ... The white space is your and I know you will fill it with your own questions, thoughts and images. Welcome to the conversation. Make this story your own. Enjoy the magic - and the danger - of the written word."

Description: It’s about a mysterious reader, Jack MacKafka and his curious presence in the Swindon’s B&B Hotel. What really captivates me were his lists of required books – for example, from Tess Of The D’Urbervilles until Heart Of Darkness on the first day of his staying. I couldn’t find any books that have this kind of writing style, except The Book Collectors by Delphine Minoui. The climax part, where MacKafka was being hailed as a ‘saint’ in the small town was difficult for me to decipher. I quite enjoyed the presence of the main character’s closest comrades, especially Susan and Cameron, where Susan was exactly like me and Cameron with her superstitious beliefs. Unfortunately, I disliked the ending, as it’s totally hanging on one side, where the main character supposed to continue her searching for MacKafka’s whereabouts.

Conclusion: I really hoped that this book has a sequel, really.

This was such a gripping book. I read it very quickly, loved the writing. Totally recommend it.

Thanks a lot to NG nad the publisher for this copy.

𝔸𝕟𝕪 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕪? 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕀’𝕝𝕝 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕎𝕖’𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕝𝕒𝕞𝕡 𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕤 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥.

this novel is my first netgalley book ever, I fell in love with the description of this novel and how it was to be made back in May and I had to get it.
to start, thanks to the people of Swindon, because of you this novel wouldn't have existed.
I love books about books and book lovers and libraries and loved how obsessed the people of Swindon with reading, the story was short and easy to follow, the narrator was so judgemental it was hilarious, the characters were flawed human beings trying to defeat the odds which was frighteningly plausible, and kind of tarafying to read in this time of the pandemic.
I enjoyed reading about my favourite classics in the book " jane eyre" "tess of the durbervilles " and more and I now want to read the other classics mentioned in this novel.

What an odd little novella. A strange piece of writing. Unexpected and utterly meaningless.

A Saint in Swindon is about a stranger, Jack MacKafka, who comes to town with a bulging bag who takes up residence in Phil and Janey’s B&B, who wants his food brought up to his room, wears nondescript clothes, a baseball hat and dark glasses even inside who takes on mythical qualities. He is a man of God, a saint who has come to offer salvation to all according to the rumours and beliefs of the townsfolk of Swindon, but he never actually leaves his little bedroom. Rather, he reads a catalogue of books, some of which are his own, and some are borrowed from the local library. At the start Janey is the perfect hostess, making food from scratch for her guest, but slowly she gets pulled into the world of wanting only to read, read the books that Jack MacKafka has read. Set in 2030 and beyond, it is a dystopian type of novel of climate change and when the government breaks down and anarchy takes over, with people reverting to a dark ages style of living and no respect for anything but basic survival.

Funny but the name Swindon reminds one of the word swindles - to use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions …. of which Jack MacKafka does so brilliantly. He swindles Phil and Janey out of 600 pounds and takes off with several books that have been borrowed under Janey’s name. He swindles, knowingly or not, the townspeople of their dignity and sanity. He charms the pants off Janey and takes her for everything she has.

Written as an experiment between the author and the townspeople of Swindon, supposedly it is meant to be a reminder of the importance of novels in dark times. It was odd, unsatisfying and thankfully only took 50 minutes or so to read, which is 50 minutes wasted, but thankfully it wasn't four hours and fifty minutes.

I don't really know what to say about this odd little book except that it can't be characterized. is it dystopian? Is it chick lit? Is it speculative fiction? Is it satire? Is allegorical?

I think it's ALL of the above and more.

The concept is intriguing. Some guy shows up at a B&B, retreats to his room and reads for days on end. The B&B hostess and her nosy friends feel they must read what the guest reads, so they discover classics like Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad. But, they cannot shake the idea that the guest is more than he appears and that his reading is somehow subversive. Eventually, their obsession with him destroys their society.

In the end, I was left thinking...Is it possible to disrupt the natural order of things through reading? I've been thinking so many other thoughts about this book. This would be a magnificent selection for book clubs, who could spend hours debating the meaning behind A Saint in Swindon.

I read this in a single lockdown afternoon. It is really very short, fast paced, with plenty of wit and humour. I was attracted by the idea of members of a book group contributing to and editing a story. Who am I to offer suggestions of what I would change? I am not a member of the group. I was intrigued, though, by people trying to find a pattern in the guest’s book choices (a puzzle to be solved perhaps?) and wondered where they were going with that. Nowhere much is the answer and that was a disappointment to me, I’d have liked to see some more progression in the choices. I can’t help but wonder, too, how the personalities of the book group members in the story came about - surely not from the Swindon book group? I imagine the process of writing and publishing this will have given great pleasure to the group, I am rather envious of them.

A Saint in Swindon was born out of a literary experiment which is described in the book’s foreword and afterword. The Swindon Artswords Reading Group invited Alice Jolly to write a story and discuss the “work in progress” with them. The idea was that through this interaction with the author, the group’s members would understand better the process involved in getting a writer’s thoughts onto the written (or printed) page. As the project evolved, however, more of the readers’ thoughts, tastes and ideas started to feed into the story. The Saint in Swindon bears Alice Jolly’s name, but she describes it as a communal work “which we created together”. Fairlight Books have now welcomed the work into their fold – an excellent choice of publisher, given the pride of place novellas are given in their catalogue.

This project is interesting and laudable. What is possibly more surprising is that The Saint in Swindon is a fine work which is enjoyable on its own merits irrespective of the experiment which gave rise to it. It is set in a dystopian near-future, where rising temperatures and water shortage are becoming increasingly worrying. In the midst of all this, a strange guest arrives at Hunter’s Grove, a bed and breakfast run by Janey (the narrator) and her husband Phil. The man, who calls himself Jack MacKafka, barricades himself in his room and only asks to be provided with food and books. Neighbours and friends are intrigued, and a cult starts to gather around the mysterious figure. Meanwhile, the world descends into greater chaos.

As befits a novella conceived by a reading group, the novella continually ventures into meta-territory. Janey and her friends are members of a book club and they try to figure out the visitor through the books he reads. The novella references many novels (which are helpfully listed at the end). We learn about the genres favoured by the different characters – the genres are then promptly mimicked in the novella itself, which veers between dystopia and mystery, between comedy and Madame Bovary-style suburban realism. It sounds like a bit of a mish-mash and it is. However, the funny and likeable voice of Janey keeps the novella on course whilst raising some intriguing questions about the value of books and literature, particularly in times of crisis. Alice Jolly does not provide answers to these queries:

I’m not going to tell you what you should think about it. The white space is yours and I know you will fill it with your own questions, thoughts and images. Welcome to the conversation. Make this story your own.

The creative process continues…

So well written Alice Jolly writes so well never fails to draw me in.Will be recommending to my friends a special author a special book.#netgalley#fairlightbooks

Publisher Synopsis: When a stranger arrives in town, with a bulging blue bag and a whiff of adventure, the neighbourhood takes notice. When he asks for his meals to be sent to his room and peace and quiet for reading, curiosity turns to obsession. Each day he stays there, locked in his room, demanding books: Plath, Kafka, Orwell, Lawrence, Fitzgerald, James, Bronte (the eldest), Dickens, Dumas, Kesey – on and on, the stranger never leaving his room. Who exactly is he? What is he reading? And will it be able to save us from the terrible state of the world? Written by award-winning author Alice Jolly, and based on an idea by the book lovers of Swindon town, this funny and, ultimately, dystopian tale, reminds us of the importance of literature in an increasingly dark world

This story was truly beautiful and I enjoyed every single second of reading this novelette. Alice Jolly has such a wonderful way of writing, like the main character is speaking directly to you and telling you their story. As much as I loved the writing, I also loved the story. How relevant! I read this during the COVID-19 isolation of 2020 and didn’t ever expect to be reading a book with whom the characters were describing my feelings at the time. For example “They banned the use of cars and grounded all flights…the days can be long when you can’t go anywhere” oh how you spoke directly to me, Jolly. But of course there was so much more to the story than just a man, just some books, and the days of a dystopian future where climate is completely fucked (there really was no other way to describe it). Such an intriguing story that had be glued to the pages from start to finish.

With a super quirky main character that is guaranteed to provide a number of giggles along the way, this book is perfect for those needed moments of escape with a cuppa, bathtub, or bed.

Rated 4/5 Stars

My sincerest thanks to Netgalley and Fairlight Books Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

It's 2030 and the days are getting hotter and hotter. A mysterious man arrives at a B&B, carrying nothing but a lumpy bag. He checks into his room; days pass and he does not come out. He does nothing but read and ask for more books. Soon questions are flying around the town and speculations spread like a virus. Is he a criminal? A celebrity in hiding? A saint? Is he reading to show others the way? As crowds begin to gather, and the urge to read becomes contagious , the outside world moves ever closer to its doom...

I adored this funny little novella and can't wait to read more by Alice Jolly. Her prose was crisp and clever and the plot and characters engaging. I also enjoyed the foreword explaining how the collaborative process used to create the story.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a slightly strange story to read in these slightly strange days of 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fairlight books for the chance to read this book in exchange for a fair review.