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A review by brogan7
When the Lights Go Out by Carys Bray
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
It's really hard to rate this book because I loved it and I didn't love what happened in it (in fact some parts I found quite difficult to suspend disbelief on, and others I just didn't want to have go that way)...but her depiction of characters, a seasoned marriage, families, and the difficulties of reckoning with our (climate changed) times...were very moving and well done.
For the most part of the book, Emma is observing her husband of 20 or so years grapple with climate change, what it means to him and what he should do about it--which for him starts with holding a sandwich board, solo, by the side of the road, and hoarding supplies for the end times, but gradually evolves to switching off the power switch in his own house, unbeknownst to anyone, to harden them up, essentially, to "prepare them for what's coming."
Emma, their two sons, then Chris'a widowed mother are the central characters, and then, maybe because it's Christmas, the point of view switches to Chris's sister Ruth. In any other book, you might mind, but the detour is so acutely observant of human interactions (Ruth and her husband Rob also have problems of a long-time couple)--and in this case "acute" is in the realm of sharp, as in startlingly painful, observation.
The climax of the story is absolutely overdone, and one wonders that the main character--Chris--seems almost to not remember it, in the denouement, almost as if, like a kind reader, he might overlook his writer's excesses.
However, the book overall is so much a quest for understanding (and so very British), that I find myself forgiving Bray for the errors of major plot points ( the whole section where there is almost a multiple casualty incident, the fight scene between Emma and Chris, and Emma locking Chris in the garage and leaving him there ) because her characters are so human ( so for instance all of Chris's thoughts as he's getting drunk in the garage are one of my favorite parts of the book. )
For the most part of the book, Emma is observing her husband of 20 or so years grapple with climate change, what it means to him and what he should do about it--which for him starts with holding a sandwich board, solo, by the side of the road, and hoarding supplies for the end times, but gradually evolves to switching off the power switch in his own house, unbeknownst to anyone, to harden them up, essentially, to "prepare them for what's coming."
Emma, their two sons, then Chris'a widowed mother are the central characters, and then, maybe because it's Christmas, the point of view switches to Chris's sister Ruth. In any other book, you might mind, but the detour is so acutely observant of human interactions (Ruth and her husband Rob also have problems of a long-time couple)--and in this case "acute" is in the realm of sharp, as in startlingly painful, observation.
The climax of the story is absolutely overdone, and one wonders that the main character--Chris--seems almost to not remember it, in the denouement, almost as if, like a kind reader, he might overlook his writer's excesses.
However, the book overall is so much a quest for understanding (and so very British), that I find myself forgiving Bray for the errors of major plot points (
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol
Climate change, assault