Hmmm.... what to say about this one... I am going to go out on a limb here and say that it's a very very good book. Don't ask me why. I will freely admit that I didn't get the relevance of some/most of the sub-plots going on within this story. And at the end, I personally found it lacking in direction and hard-going. But I think this had more to do with me than the story because even having said all that I would definitely read it again. Don't ask me to put my finger on why though. Maybe it's because there is so much going on within that you can't possibly process it all at once? Or maybe it's because Clodagh and I experienced the same meaningless existence when attending college in London after an 'event' (although mine certainly wasn't as bad as hers)... Who knows... .
Blamed for a terrible accident on an electricity pylon resulting in the death of her boyfriend, Clodagh is dutifully sent to London to attend a polytechnic Uni and begin a mundane course she has no interest in. Living in a dark and dingy basement flat lent to her by an intellectually arrogant but no less flawed family friend, it seems to Clodagh life can get no worse. Then she meets misfits Silver, Liv, Winn and Johnny and her life roaming the roofs of Maida Vale begins. However, during this time they all make a discovery with regards to inhabitants of Torrington Gardens, which inevitably lead to tragic consequences for them.
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There is tons of atmosphere in the book generated by Vine's writing. Being set in the area of Maida Vale I imagine you would get a whole lot more out of this than someone like me who doesn't know the place so well. The high point for me however was when Vine mentions the local paper the Ham & High - which is the paper I first learnt my trade as a newspaper planner with :) But Vine does a good job describing the area and such. The story lines all intertwine and it is very cleverly written although at times I did find it lagged - but I'm putting this down to the fact that I don't think I fully 'got it'.
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I do find it ironic that Clodagh is scared of being in confined spaces and being underground when nothing has ever happened to her here, yet she loves being up high on the pylon and the roofs and has met with tragedy here several times. But again, just another aspect of the story I didn't understand the reasoning behind.
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But I will recommend it to you anyway. Like I say, I don't know why - but I would definitely give it a go if you happen to pick it up. And for those that don't happen to know; Barbara Vine is Ruth Rendall :)
