Wow... what an incredible book, thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am literally blown away by the writing: the insightfulness, the authors’s ability to stop time, hold space, reflect and prospect almost at the same time, the exquisite way complex and controversial subjects are discussed, normalised and etched into your memory for ever.

This is one of those heart stopping reads that make you stop in your tracks...

I don’t want to say much, if anything of the plot line. You need to read it, be in it, to appreciate the sheer talent of this incredible debut author. Read it slowly, re read sections and take time to digest and feel it’s impact.

I am so very excited as to what he has done here, and to see what else he can offer in the future. Incredible 😮

Well, this is quite a difficult review to write…

First, thank you Ireland for giving us a debut author actually worth reading after we suffered through a couple I won’t name.

An early morning bus accident brings together several people, each in as figuratively a precarious a position in their own lives as the bus literally is: Nina, the journalist; her ex-husband and firefighter, Tim; Richie, the bus driver; Alina, the first passenger rescued; and Lucy, a passenger still on the bus.

This is NOT an action-packed drama. It’s a slow, unravelling drama. The blurb makes it seem like this book revolves around a tense rescue mission to save those still trapped on the bus. It’s not. This is happening in the background, but it is simply the thread tying the other stories together. What the book is actually about is people stuck at a point in their lives and needing to get free before it’s too late – just like the bus.

Some of the issues the characters are facing include bereavement, marriage breakdown, religious intolerance, racism, toxic relationships, and ageing parents. The set-up is a little bit Jodi Picoult, with different voices and an ‘event’ as a backdrop to explore other themes. Maybe too many themes? It was a little bit disjointed at times making the switch from one voice to the next, especially when Nina’s story seemed so much stronger than the rest.

I did like this book and I thought it was exceptionally well-written. There’s so much cliched language filling books today that the imagery in phrases like, ‘he nudged himself along the seat, careful as a full pint glass’ or ‘Kids raised on McDonald’s and the absence of a slap’ really stood out and made a change.

Now for a little bit of nit-picking:

I really liked the character of Lucy. However, she didn’t appear in the first section so by the time we got to her the bus passengers already seemed like background and we didn’t really care enough if they were rescued or not. I wish we could have had more of Lucy, especially at the beginning, or even the opposite: keep the passengers anonymous and the crash more of a setting-the-scene device. It felt strange that I was suddenly supposed to care about them halfway through the book.

Following on from ‘I wish there had been more Lucy’, I think perhaps five voices were too many. I don’t think Tim was necessary as a separate voice from Nina, given that their story was shared. On the other hand, and this really bothered me, when I read a book with five voices, I expect all fives voices in each section! As I already mentioned, I felt like Lucy was introduced too late and Richie’s story felt unfinished as he didn’t appear in the last section. Personally, I think the book would have worked well with just Nina and Lucy exploring the themes of mothers and daughters.

Finally, why do Nina’s sections randomly have parts in the second person? It was very distracting! And in Lucy’s first section, the POV seems to be overtaken by Paul for a while, which was confusing.

As I said, this was quite a hard review to write. I did really like this book, especially the writing – and I read it in twenty-four hours! – but I did have a few grumbles. However, I’m feeling optimistic about Gráinne Murphy and look forward to what she’ll do next, so four stars!

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC of #WhereTheEdgeIs

Where the Edge Is by Gráinne Murphy is a touching story of hope and releasing what isn’t meant to be.

A bus is swallowed into a sinkhole in a small Irish village with rescue efforts underway. The narrative changes perspective with each character and ties past and present together. This was poignant and character driven storytelling at its best, though at times I was challenged by the nonlinear timelines within each chapter.

Advanced copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Packs an emotional punch from all angles.
A small village,and a disaster that impacts all involved.
Beautiful writing,it left me a little emotional at times.