Finished reading: The Companion by Sarah Dunnakey 📚
I really enjoyed The Companion. I'm trying to write some kind of a review; this is what I've got so far. No spoilers here, I think, but I will refer to some minor plot points.
I like the multiple time frames. I've got to admit, I find it hard to remember names at the best of times, so I did occasionally struggle to recall who some of the minor characters were as the book zips between past and present. But that's my problem.
Anna's story is partly a hymn in praise of archivists. She unravels the mystery of what happened at High Hob by patiently trawling through papers, diaries and audio recordings. Cataloguing, consent forms, making presentations to the board: this makes it sound like the book might be a bit of a quiet read, but Billy's chapters, in contrast, are full of action and dynamism. A mood of awful apprehension grows as Anna uncovers the details, building up to a sequence of grim revelations and reversals, some half-expected but still shocking, as Billy's story reaches its climax.
Ultimately it is about loss of innocence: young people coming to realise that the adult world is often sordid and dishonest; and the consequences our actions have on future generations.
