Novel approach

Where to start? | Suggest a pairing

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The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

The lives of Kay, Helen, Viv and Duncan are peeled away layer by layer as the story goes backwards in time from 1947 to 1944. It's clear that they never lived as vividly as during the dangers of the Blitz, when buildings and people were blown open and Kay drove an ambulance through it all. It's not so clear if they will ever realise the ways their lives are linked, from coincidence to slow-burn love affairs.

We still haven't touched,
only lain side by side
the half stories of our half lives.
The Book of Blood

Vicki Feaver, The Book of Blood

From the darkness of the postwar period to the darkness of rural Lanarkshire, Vicki Feaver's poems make familiar subject matter resonate with mystery and sensuality.

The Book Of Blood by Vicki Feaver

Or try… Sharon Olds, Glyn Maxwell (particularly The Sugar Mile)

Pairings & synopses

	High Fidelity | Zoom!
	The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency | The Good Neighbour
	The Family Way | Newborn
	The Algebraist | Spirit Machines
	The God Of Small Things | Postcards From God
	The Night Watch | The Book Of Blood
	Fleshmarket Close | Dead Redhead
	Bridget Jones's Diary | Leaving And Leaving You
	Quite Ugly One Morning | Bad Shaman Blues
	The Shipping News | The Tree House
	Shadow Of The Wind | The Eyes
	Back When We Were Grownups | Granny Scarecrow