Reservoir 13: WINNER OF THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD
As seen:
By Jon McGregor, and and, Matt Bates
avg rating
1 review
WINNER OF THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD
A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR AN FT BOOK OF THE YEAR A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR From the award-winning author of If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things. Reservoir 13 tells the story of many lives haunted by one family’s loss. Midwinter in the early years of this century. A teenage girl on holiday has gone missing in the hills at the heart of England. The villagers are called up to join the search, fanning out across the moors as the police set up roadblocks and a crowd of news reporters descends on their usually quiet home. Meanwhile, there is work that must still be done: cows milked, fences repaired, stone cut, pints poured, beds made, sermons written, a pantomime rehearsed. The search for the missing girl goes on, but so does everyday life. As it must. An extraordinary novel of cumulative power and grace, Reservoir 13 explores the rhythms of the natural world and the repeated human gift for violence, unfolding over thirteen years as the aftershocks of a stranger’s tragedy refuse to subside. WINNER OF THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE ‘A rare and dazzling feat of art’ George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo ‘McGregor writes with such grace and precision, with love even, about who and where we are, that he leaves behind all other writers of his generation’ Sarah Hall, author of The Wolf Border ‘Reservoir 13 is quite extraordinary – the way it’s structured, the way it rolls, the skill with which Jon McGregor lets the characters breathe and age’ Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha TweetReviews
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
Reviewed 4th June 2018
****
8 members present
13 years old, 13 reservoirs, 13 chapters
From the blurb many of the group expected a crime novel but this is not a book about ‘a crime’ but a reflective meditation on the circle of life, death and nature, throughout a period of years. It is a story of ordinariness and the effects a disappearance has on a community.
We were caught up in the life of this village, its people, their concerns, and their lives. Each chapter has it’s own stories which are interwoven with elements of the missing girl and her impact on others. Alongside this the writer has used repetitions that trigger key events in our memories and show time passing. The cycle of the seasons, the landscape, the power of nature, wildlife and the birds. However, life cannot come to a standstill because of the enormity of the happening and its impact on people.
Reality is that the only thing that stays the same is the girl, she is still 13 and still missing.
This was the first book we had read by this author and a few members went on to read Reservoir tapes
