Metronome: The 'unputdownable' BBC Two Between the Covers Book Club Pick
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Metronome: The 'unputdownable' BBC Two Between the Covers Book Club Pick
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
The eventual focus on parenthood meant this reminded me a lot of The Road, and there were also shades of The Water Cure and Doggerland (though, thankfully, the dual protagonists ensure a less overly male atmosphere). The setup is that a couple, Aina and Whitney have been in exile on a supposed island for 12 years for the crime in their future dystopian society of conceiving a child without a permit. The character list is sparse but the two protagonists are so well realised and at times both oddly quite relatable, despite their extraordinary circumstances.
The prose was gorgeous, filled with ideas around human feelings and capabilities, but ultimately, the book sucked. I had approached this book with high hopes: The premise of two people being exiled to a remote island for 12 years as a punishment is intriguing.Art features heavily in the novel, sparked by the arrival of three Anthony Gormley sculptures at the UAE, which planted the seed in Watson’s mind, demonstrating a very organic and holistic process. However their supply drops have ceased and they are surviving off the land and the occasional shipwreck. Sure, there’s an undercurrent of mild thriller, a human study, a deeper issue of crime and punishment - no matter what the crime or misdemeanour, and whether the punishment fits it.
As both characters have lots of secrets that they keep to themselves throughout the novel and we don't ever really get to understand what they all are. As I said I was obviously in the minority and maybe it was as much to do with my frame of mind whilst reading as the writing itself! And on her re-discovery of a hand-illustrated map, “the scale is all wrong, the distances too great. Perhaps idealistic images of ‘Castaway’, ‘The Beach’ and ‘Desert Island Discs’ came rushing before I’d read Metronome.
The narrative ticktocks between the daily routine and the characters' inner thoughts, building tension as if towards a countdown however just like a metronome it simply becomes repetitive. Overall, Metronome is an interesting story with a great premise that sucked me right in to its island setting, however I would have preferred a little more explanation and world building at times. While there is an argument to be that as it's a story of Aina and Whitney's "present" they wouldn't be reflect on a past that they haven't interacted with, the fact that the story is told in the third person means that there is scope there in the writing to include it. References to the past shed light on the present, and for me, the past has made the present work very strongly.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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