Why did I love this book?
In today’s world, young lives cut short by bombing are sadly commonplace. In November 1944, one of many such tragedies occurred in London. The author of this astounding novel walked past a memorial to the victims every day, and this became his inspiration.
What if five imaginary children were not robbed of their futures in this brutal way? What would they have done with their lives? Jo, Val, Vern, Alec, and Ben are fictional, but their messy, credible stories are explored in a deeply moving account of the social changes that played out in Britain through the decades following the Second World War.
The writing is beautiful, the detail rich, and I did not want to say goodbye to any of the characters. It is a masterpiece.
3 authors picked Light Perpetual as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Named a Best Book of the Year by TheNew York Times, NPR, Slate, Lit Hub, Fresh Air, and more
From the critically acclaimed and award‑winning author of Golden Hill, an “extraordinary…symphonic…casually stunning” (The Wall Street Journal) novel tracing the infinite possibilities of five lives in the bustling neighborhoods of 20th-century London.
Lunchtime on a Saturday, 1944: the Woolworths on Bexford High Street in South London receives a delivery of aluminum saucepans. A crowd gathers to see the first new metal in ages—after all, everything’s been melted down for the war effort. An instant later, the crowd is gone; incinerated. Among…