Page 45 Review by Stephen
Some of the very best prose I've ever read.
(Terms of reference: I am a huge fan of E.M. Forster, Evelyn Waugh, Jane Austen, Bernadine Evaristo, Larry McMurtry, Yuval Noah Harari etc.)
Things are looking pretty peachy for Charlotte as our story unfurls.
Sadly (Charlotte might even say 'predictably') as it unfolds, all will unravel. Some of it may even be her own fault. But probably not as much as Charlotte will blame herself for.
"When I was thirteen years old my mother told me, with only the slightest hint of impatience in her voice that I was 'determined to burn every bridge offered to me'."
So there's that, and it's just the opening salvo.
Charlotte and Bill are living together. Charlotte somehow manages to make a living from writing literary reviews while Bill is a blameless, loyal, loving, practical carpenter so it's actually pretty idyllic if a little ramshackle. Then wealthier and more successful TV Producer Francesca rolls back into her life with attendant boyfriend and war photographer Adrian whom Charlotte almost dated at university. And they offer Bill and Charley lodging in their beautiful rectory in the beautiful countryside - it'll be like recreating their college daze! So yeah, the rectory is the titular Wreck. Maybe.
Rich in candid psychological self-analysis, its chief protagonist and initial narrator, Charlotte, is highly aware of the her own flaws (some of which she has harboured since childhood; but hey, there's always room to develop a few more) so that the overall effect is of someone observing their own car-crash downfall in such slow motion that there is time or room to ruminate on each in detail as they are triggered.
And it's all absolutely terrific - terrific! - except for the comic bits, sorry, those actually detract from the prose they're so jarring. The miracles Posy SImmonds achieves ain't so easy, are they? V pretty, though. Now forget you read this tiny paragraph because the prose is Booker-worthy. True fact!
Lastly, yeah it's true about who you know etc.
From the creator of former Page 45 Comicbook Of The Month ALISON.
