The Old Woman of the Sea
by Gavin Bantock
Bruce Dinwiddy, twenty-three, an aspiring poet but innocent of the world, has been given permission by his father to stay at the family holiday house at the very edge of the sea. He has invited there his young friend Stephen Pewit, who at nineteen is already a failed child-prodigy, a drop-out and an incorrigible rebel. Bruce hopes the beauty of the surroundings and calm isolation of the house will enable Stephen, who also hopes to be a writer, to develop a sense of stability and to settle down to some steady work; but things turn out very differently. The two friends become involved with disturbing people from the hotel and the college for delinquents near the house, in particular with a teenage girl – Vera Nicolson, who though a brilliant artist is nymphomaniacal. Conflicts develop and intensify. Intense soul-searching, emotional crises, and humorous episodes. The story develops and reaches climaxes along with clear-cut changes in the weather. Some episodes are frankly erotic, and there are glimpses into the imagination-world of the principal characters.
A Reader’s Comment
“A beautifully written novel with its two protagonists given wonderfully strong voices and deep layers of characterization. The descriptions of the sea and surrounding landscape reflect perfectly the characters’ desolation, turmoil and discovery.”
Paperback 324 pages
Price: £7:50 free p&p