After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry

Bookish John Cole, aloof and alone in middle age, walks out of his life on the thirty-first day without rain. Making his way to the Norfolk coast, his car breaks down in the punishing heat. Abandoning it on an isolated road, he comes to a solitary house whose residents welcome him in.

But there's more to this curious community hidden in the Thetford pines than meets the eye: his hosts all know him by name. They've prepared a room for him, and claim to have been waiting for him all along…

" ... unsettling and beguiling, and beautifully lyrical, this stunning literary debut marks Sarah Perry as a terrifically talented novelist of the very highest calibre." - John Burnside, The Guardian.

I'm really not sure what to make of it. It's very strange and confusing, but also beautifully written and somewhat Gothic. I just haven't yet figured out what it's about, I guess. Might revise this rating later.

The blurb is a little misleading, promising more sinister action than ever takes place. Despite this, it is worth a read. Charming in it's simplicity. It is a page-turner borne out of curiosity as opposed to excitement although the ending seems a little weak.I can see why it was longlisted for the Guardian's First Book Award and I can also see why it didn't win. It is expertly written and still, it has room to evolve yet hasn't. It is an excellent exercise in character building and the slow reveal of different facets of each of the protagonists.Swapping the voice between an omniscient narrator and John diarising his experiences gives the reader a bit of a change and allows different characters to be explored in other ways.I definitely liked the book, and enjoyed it, though as I have said it has some space to develop further that I would like to have seen. I would consider reading another [a:Sarah Perry 480401 Sarah Perry https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] novel in the future if it piqued my interest.