There is a light that never goes out by David M Barnett

 There is a light that never goes out

 by David M Barnett



There is a light that never goes out by David M Barnett was published on 8th June 2023 by Orion.

My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Compulsive Readers for inviting me to take part on the tour.




Synopsis

How do you find love . . . when you have the loneliest job in the world?

This is the story of Gayle and Martin, who fall in love over the course of ten years- over a yearly visit to a tiny, isolated island off the Welsh coast.

Gayle is a teacher and each year she brings her class to the island to see the local flora and fauna, from sea birds to playful seals. Martin, the island's caretaker and only human resident, lives in and maintains the lighthouse, which opens to the public for just this one day a year.

Gayle is effervescent but feels trapped, while Martin is lonely and isolated. As their love slowly builds over time, they both yearn for the annual field trip where they can finally see each other... Until one year Gayle doesn't come back, and Martin has to leave his island hideaway to find her.





My Review


This is a beautiful story of love,loss and what is important to us in the world we currently live in. Although this is essentially a light-hearted easy read if you look carefully below the surface there are hidden messages to the reader as to what is exactly important in relationships of many kinds. At first glance this appears to be a story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl due to not telling her the true reason about why he is not working, boy finds girl again in the future and will he eventually get his girl. 

Whether or not I was just reading too much into the sub story or not I just don't know but when I did start looking at the undercurrents I thought it was very cleverly written to include several aspects of modern day life that many of us are concerned about. Also it does get you questioning what are the important elements of what we have and experience.

The story evolves over several years and is certainly not a fast rekindling of passions lost, however, for me, this is one of the intriguing aspects of the way David has written the book, alternating between Gayle and Martin in different chapters and comparing their vastly differing lives and how much in control they are of what influences them.

This is a story that will take a couple of days to read and leave you feeling as though you have got to know Gayle and Martin well in the intervening years.

A lovely 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read that will have you yearning to spend time on your own little island where the lighthouse never goes out.




About the Author

David Barnett is an author, journalist and comic book writer based in the North of England. Writing as David M. Barnett, his novels include CALLING MAJOR TOM, THE GROWING PAINS OF JENNIFER EBERT, THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER and in 2021 THE HANDOVER, to be published in the US in 2022 as SAME TIME, SAME PLACE. In December 2021 he published on Kindle the novel NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH. He is also the author of ALIEN: COLONY WAR and the GIDEON SMITH series of steampunk novels. His comics work includes, for IDW, EVE STRANGER and PUNKS NOT DEAD, for DC's Sandman Universe BOOKS OF MAGIC, and he has also worked for Archie and 2000AD. As a journalist he writes mainly long-form features for the UK press including the Guardian, Independent, Big Issue, Tortoise, BBC Culture and more. He can be contacted via his website davidmbarnett.com or Twitter, @davidmbarnett



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Delegate by Ali Carter

Image
The Delegate by Ali Carter   What a tangled web she weaved…   The Delegate by Ali Carter was  published on 29th November 2022 by Matador. My thanks to the author and publisher who sent me a copy and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.      Synopsis Charlotte… Having been sprung by Mafia family the Zandini’s on a day release the previous year, and managing to ‘despatch’ one of their enemies in New York (plus a few extras), ex killer G.P> Charlotte Peterson was now securely back inside Rampton high Security Hospital. However, her work was unfinished and a second escape quite out of the question. It was why she had the need of a delegate. A killer to complete a very important job…someone she’d control. Annie… She had found the perfect person in Annie. A woman who felt cheated. A woman who was mentally and emotionally scarred in exactly the same way Charlotte had been throughout her own life. Annie was fully ripe for manipulation in t...
Read more

Tristan /Yseulte by Harry Bonelle

Image
 Tristan /Yseulte  by Harry Bonelle Tristan/ Yseult by Harry Bonelle  was published on 31st january 2024 by Unicorn. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours  for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Tristan/Yseult is a narrative poem about the yearning for oneness in a world split into fragments. A duel on an empty island sets the course for one of the greatest romances ever told. As the lovers of legend meet, something new is born, and something eternal is revealed. Their names will forever be spoken as one. This modern retelling of Tristan and Yseult sheds a stark light on the beauty of the Celtic tale. “Harry Bonelle’s new version taps into the dark and furious energy of the old saga, surging and juddering with life. Bonelle’s actor’s training has encouraged him to liberate the performance piece that its original author must have intended. Thrilling on the page, but even more so spoken loud....
Read more

My Father & Other Animals by Mike Kirby

Image
  My Father & Other Animals  by Mike Kirby  My Father & Other Animals was published in February 2024.  My thanks to Mike for sending me a copy  in return for an honest review. Synopsis My parents chose the Yorkshire Pennines – a tough place to pursue their dream of having their own farm. Dad, a man of many actions but few words, was as relentless as the farming seasons, and through long hours and lots of mud, sweat and tears, gradually carved out a living, slowly making real the vision that they shared. My Father and Other Animals tells the story of how this driven man, always hand in hand with Mum, and blessed with a unique understanding of his animals, brought their  farming dream to life, building a successful farming business against the backdrop of the South Yorkshire hills.  Together they raised  a family, blessing all four of their sons  with their  common sense and restless work ethic and love of being outdoors, working s...
Read more