Words in deep blue by Cath Crowley
Pan Macmillan, 2016. ISBN 9781742612386
(Age: Adolescent - Adult) Recommended. This delightful novel is
about the joy of writing, of love, of families, of the angst and joy
of adolescence, of stories and of the place of books in today's
world. Situating her story in a country town, Cath Crowley centres
her story on one family who own a bookshop, who are passionate about
books and reading, and who live above the shop. The struggle to
survive as booksellers in today's world, is at the heart of the
narrative, particularly given the threat to books, and by inference,
to reading, that is potent in the novel.
The quirky and charming aspect of this shop is that many people
write notes to loved ones, to friends, to those who are no longer
living, or just to anyone who might, one day, find the note. Some
write back, their reply encouraging friendship or relationships, and
others just read the notes. The simple love of reading, of the
welcoming of readers who come into the shop just to read the notes,
is at the core of the novel. We know from the start that the
bookshop's role in the town is threatened, and we are caught up in
the underlying note of sadness - that with the demise of the shop,
their lives will change drastically.
Crowley captivates her readers, inviting us into the intimate world
of people's thoughts and relationships through the letters, the
little love stories, the stories of those who part, and the stories
of deep friendship, of loss and of recovery. Crowley has included
some thought-provoking little messages at the start of each chapter,
and these reflect the emotions and lives of the characters. The
letter-narrative is told in the first person from a number of
note-writers, while the narrative itself is told by various
characters, of different ages, told in the first person. Somehow,
once we get to recognize who is speaking, this quirky structure
works and we begin to understand the characters in their sometimes
confessional, sometimes angry, sometimes puzzled narratives. Despite
the presence of change and of incipient loss, the feeling of
possibility is potent, as we are caught up in the small worlds of
the adolescents and the adults who live, for a brief time, in this
quirky story. It is suitable for both adolescent readers and adults
who are happy to read about life as experienced by adolescents, with
all its angst, joy and potency.
Liz Bondar
Editor's note: This is a CBCA Notable for older readers, on longlist
for the Inky Award.