The West coast of Guernsey in 1913 is poor and haunted by superstition. The lives of three young people are about to change forever.
At sixteen, George Bazin is rejected by the island’s militia as being unfit, but George hides a secret. Since he dropped his spectacles as a child he has been convinced he is being followed by a beautiful woman who shares portents of the future.
His older brother Artie is smart and ambitious, wishing his brother would abandon the childish fantasy.
Edith Mullane is penniless and bursting to escape life with her dissolute mother. She and Artie could build a brilliant future together, but war clouds threaten all her plans.
Looming in the background is George’s obsession with his imaginary friend, and a dead infant sister he never knew. Ill luck strikes all around him, yet the young man everyone thinks is a fool seems to profit when the world is falling into chaos. ‘Death is his friend’ the gossips say. Does tragedy or triumph await the family Bazin?
The sixth novel from this author, it is the first historical novel and the first to be published under his own name. It explores the impact of the Great War on the island community and the changes brought about by a new century. The story is meticulously researched,steeped in the folklore, language and history of the Channel Islands.
Published in May 2016 by Matador.
Available in paperback from Blue Ormer
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