The Blind Light by Stuart Evers

The Blind Light by Stuart Evers
UK Publication: June 2020
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Pan Macmillan (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

One word review – Ohhhh

Synopsis from Goodreads: The year is 1959. Two young soldiers, Drummond and Carter—one working-class, the other privileged—form an intense and unlikely friendship at “Doomtown,” a training center that simulates the aftermath of an atomic strike. Years later, the men watch in horror as the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold. Carter, now a high-ranking British government official, offers Drummond a way to save himself and his family in the event of a nuclear strike. Their pact, kept secret, will have devastating consequences for the very lives they seek to protect.

Spanning decades, from the 1950s to the present, this ambitious, original novel offers a nuanced and absorbing portrait of friendship and rivalry that explores class divisions and the psychological legacy of the nuclear age.

My Thoughts: This is an interesting book about family dynamics and friendships. The backdrop of the cold war era early on in the story explains a lot of what happens later and why Drum and Carter maintain a friendship which in reality should have fallen apart once army life was over due to the class differences and political ideals of Drum and Carter.

Drum’s crippling fear of nuclear attack leads to a cataclysmic family division one that will take years to resolve and will not ever be fully repaired.

This is a new take on the family saga for the fact that it is largely the male relationships that are examined and explored and while we do hear from the women it is the men who are the stars of the show and for this kind of story that works well.

We do see the unfolding saga from the points of view of all the family members but the action is largely driven by Carter and Drum and the choices they make.

And that ending way to go Evers although part of me wishes that it had gone the other way.

Who would like this? Read this if you are interested in the dynamics of male friendship, if you have an interest in the impact of living through the Cold War and if you like a different take on the family saga.

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