Interesting premise - teenage boy who recently lost his mother goes to spend summer on his unconventional uncle's boat - which is why I picked it up solely on the strength of a Guardian recommendation. Henry had a propensity to lecture and philosophise in everyday interaction, which would be quite irritating in real life, but I suppose Lott gets away with it, because the character is an ex-priest and has a doctorate in divinity.more I liked it, but thought the ending was sort of tacked on. Henry lives an 'alternative' lifestyle - living on a boat - and has problems with the local community, particularly the vicar. Adam, a seventeen year old boy growing up in a provincial town stays with his uncle Henry one summer, after his mother passes away. Henry had a propensity to lecture and philosophise in everyday interaction, which would be quite irritating in real life, but I suppos A good read. While Adam falls under the spell of pretty, knowing Ashley, Henry, set on pursuing his personal vision unbendingly, seals the shocking fate of Strawberry, Adam and ultimately himself.moreĪ good read.
As the summer unspools, Adam meets first Strawberry, an ethereal American girl living in a shack in the woods and then Ashley, whose father, the local vicar, is locked in conflict with Henry and his circle's 'alternative' way of life.
Henry is charismatic, unfamiliar, full of eccentric ideas and projects. With few possessions and even fewer ambitions for his future, Adam arrives at his uncle's houseboat in the West Country. Rejecting any consolation at home, Adam is sent to spend the long hot 1970s summer with Ray's unlikely brother, the enigmatic Dr Henry Templeton, guru and spiritual teacher. Life is slow, unbearably routine, in their low-rise council block in the London suburbs, until tragedy strikes, leaving Adam unhinged with grief. Rejecting an A captivating 1970s-set novel that is both a coming-of-age and an End-of-an-Age story: about love, the lure of idealism, innocence and decadence.Īdam is seventeen, the only son of straitlaced, cautious Ray and Evie. Adam is seventeen, the only son of straitlaced, cautious Ray and Evie. A captivating 1970s-set novel that is both a coming-of-age and an End-of-an-Age story: about love, the lure of idealism, innocence and decadence.