The Beauty of Impossible Things by Rachel Donohue

The Beauty of Impossible Things by Rachel Donohue
UK Publication Date: May 2021
Reviewed by: Book Worm  
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Atlantic Books, Corvus (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to the summer…

Synopsis from Goodreads: Foresight is not always a gift…

Natasha Rothwell leads a sheltered life with her beautiful, bohemian mother in a crumbling house by the sea. From a young age she has been beset by strange dreams that she believes predict the future.

The summer Natasha turns fifteen, strange dancing lights appear in the sky above her small seaside town, lights that she interprets as portents of doom and which lead her to reveal her gift to the small, insular community. Meanwhile, the arrival of a new lodger, the handsome Mr Bowen, threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium between mother and daughter.

As news of the lights spreads, more and more visitors arrive, creating a feverish atmosphere of anticipation and dread. Then a local teenager goes missing, and Natasha is called on to use her powers to help. But her actions over that long, hot summer will have unforeseen and ultimately tragic consequences that will cast a shadow for many years to come..

My Thoughts:  This is a strange book, strange in the fact that the reader is left with the impression that nothing really happens while at the same time living through 2 tragic events in the life of the narrator.

The narrator is telling the story of the events of the summer she was fifteen, she is telling this story to her therapist so from the start the reader knows that whatever happens to her it is in the past and she has moved on. The whole story is told in a kind of detached way with no real urgency to events because they have already happened.

The writing is beautiful and you really do get a sense of place. The ridge and the seaside town in summer really came alive for me. I could see the mysterious lights in the wood and easily visualise the kind of people that would appear in town after the sightings were confirmed. The nature of holiday makers was also perfectly captured, for the duration of the holiday the friends they make at the ridge are their whole world but once summer is over they are just a footnote in history. So True!

Overall I enjoyed the book but remain mystified as to how I would classify or even really describe it.

Who would like this: If you enjoy whimsical stories looking back to the golden days of summer this could be the book for you. If you are looking for a ghost story, alien invasion or for a story that ties everything up neatly this may not be the book for you.

We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?