Scan barcode
A review by thebooklender
Only the Ocean by Natasha Carthew
4.0
Set in a near-future, waterlogged Cornwall, Only The Ocean depicts a dystopian society where the poor “swamp folk” and the rich “tower folk” do not mix.
Fifteen year old Kel is desperate to escape her life in the swamps - a life of crime, abuse and misery. With nothing but a knife, a baby and a meticulous plan, Kel knows what she has to do: kidnap the tower girl from a ship, get her back to land and use the ransom to pay her way to South America and a life-saving operation on her oversized heart. But we all know what happens to best laid plans. Unpredictable seas, weather and people leave Kel and Rose - kidnapper and victim - reliant on each other in order to survive everything the ocean throws at them, and force Kel to reevaluate not just her plans, but her whole world view.
Only The Ocean will not be to everyone’s tastes. It reads like a post-apocalyptic Cornish folk song - the style may put off some readers, but it worked for me. Long periods of the book are set on a small island, or an even smaller dinghy, and there is a suitably claustrophobic atmosphere to the writing. We get to see very little of the dystopian society up close, what little we know of it comes from contextual clues and conversations. I liked that not everything was made explicit, that there was room for inference and gap-filling.
Carthew’s writing is full of powerful imagery, evoking sights, sounds, feelings and places through her interesting and creative use of language. Only the Ocean is certainly not for everyone - the distinct writing style could take time to get used to and may put off some readers. The novel also deals with some serious issues - rape and child abuse, self harm - so is definitely one for older, more mature readers.
Fifteen year old Kel is desperate to escape her life in the swamps - a life of crime, abuse and misery. With nothing but a knife, a baby and a meticulous plan, Kel knows what she has to do: kidnap the tower girl from a ship, get her back to land and use the ransom to pay her way to South America and a life-saving operation on her oversized heart. But we all know what happens to best laid plans. Unpredictable seas, weather and people leave Kel and Rose - kidnapper and victim - reliant on each other in order to survive everything the ocean throws at them, and force Kel to reevaluate not just her plans, but her whole world view.
Only The Ocean will not be to everyone’s tastes. It reads like a post-apocalyptic Cornish folk song - the style may put off some readers, but it worked for me. Long periods of the book are set on a small island, or an even smaller dinghy, and there is a suitably claustrophobic atmosphere to the writing. We get to see very little of the dystopian society up close, what little we know of it comes from contextual clues and conversations. I liked that not everything was made explicit, that there was room for inference and gap-filling.
Carthew’s writing is full of powerful imagery, evoking sights, sounds, feelings and places through her interesting and creative use of language. Only the Ocean is certainly not for everyone - the distinct writing style could take time to get used to and may put off some readers. The novel also deals with some serious issues - rape and child abuse, self harm - so is definitely one for older, more mature readers.