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A review by seabreeze_reader
The Road to Grantchester by James Runcie
4.0
They look on human existence with a sad and loving amusement, patrolling the borders between life and death, believing that the best way to behave is with dignity and grace. Grace, that was the word. This is what Sydney wants. How can he learn to have grace?
Since I am a fan of the Masterpiece Mystery TV series, Grantchester, I started reading this novel a whim, more out of curiosity than anything else. This book is a prequel, written after the initial mystery series had been published. The story begins with the main character, Sidney Chambers, serving in the Scots Guard during WWII. There are some graphic descriptions of battle scenes but much of the story focuses on the psychological effects of war, continuing on into peacetime. Readers are given glimpses into the factors leading up to Sidney finally making the decision to become a clergyman, including one horrible event that happens during a battle, and his ongoing discussions with Reverend (Rev) Nev. It was also interesting to learn about Sydney's family members, who don't play much of a role in the TV series.
It was difficult not to insert mental images and voices of actors from the tv series into the story, so I just let them be part of the characters in the book. I am also not sure how much my enjoyment of the TV series played into my rating of the book, but it doesn't really matter. I am not usually a big reader of mysteries (although I enjoy some mystery TV shows) but I did like this novel and the way it was written.
Since I am a fan of the Masterpiece Mystery TV series, Grantchester, I started reading this novel a whim, more out of curiosity than anything else. This book is a prequel, written after the initial mystery series had been published. The story begins with the main character, Sidney Chambers, serving in the Scots Guard during WWII. There are some graphic descriptions of battle scenes but much of the story focuses on the psychological effects of war, continuing on into peacetime. Readers are given glimpses into the factors leading up to Sidney finally making the decision to become a clergyman, including one horrible event that happens during a battle, and his ongoing discussions with Reverend (Rev) Nev. It was also interesting to learn about Sydney's family members, who don't play much of a role in the TV series.
It was difficult not to insert mental images and voices of actors from the tv series into the story, so I just let them be part of the characters in the book. I am also not sure how much my enjoyment of the TV series played into my rating of the book, but it doesn't really matter. I am not usually a big reader of mysteries (although I enjoy some mystery TV shows) but I did like this novel and the way it was written.