03 December 2009

Incendiary ~ Chris Cleave

** RECOMMEND **

Wow ! Can Cleave do voice!
The sad, horrific repercussions of terrorism.

Apparently this was written and due for release and then had to be held back because of terrorist bombings in the London Tube - an integral part of the novel. The sub-heading on the cover encapsulates the feeling that permeates the book -"unbearable devastation".

The narrative is through the desperate and broken voice of a woman who has lost her husband and child to acts of terrorism. In essence the storyline is developed through a series of letters she writes to Osama Bin Larden. And while it is superficially about her loss, it is also about the losses caused to society by terrorism.

This isn't a dark novel with a heart of gold that will leave you uplifted at the end. It is sad and dark and haunting and will leave you contemplating societal changes and the corrosion caused by terrorism.