I liked everything about this book and I found myself picking it up at every opportunity as I almost missed it's company when I wasn't reading it. It even took over the times when I usually scan through reels on Instagram, so it must be good.
Thomas Hart is a journalist writing a weekly column for a local Essex newspaper, and he is one of those people who seem to have arrived from another era with his well pressed suits and charming manners. He is the newspaper's longest running contributor and his editor wants him to come up with something interesting to write about as the circulation numbers are down. The editor suggests he write something about the moon; 'Five hundred words, please, and six if the night is clear.'
The moon turns out to be a revelation to Thomas, and it's almost as though he has never seen it before. Once he starts observing it properly, he finds himself falling in love, and it is not long before he reads up on all things astronomical, including comets. Comets soon become the theme of the book, as Thomas discovers that a woman who lived in a now-derelict house in his town was a keen amateur astronomer, and he becomes desperate to find out more about her.
The woman is question is Maria Vaduva, who had already been part of Thomas's life as an imagined presence that followed him around. In his youth, the local boys believed Maria haunted the old house 'Lowlands', and although he never saw any kind of apparition, after that time he was never able to get her out of his head. He often imagined her talking to him as though she was nearby. Lowlands sat very close to the old Bethesda Baptist church, where Thomas attended services on many Sundays without ever considering himself to be a member. The Pastor and his family became like relations to him, and when the Pastor's wife died in childbirth, Thomas felt compelled to take an interest in the baby who he looked upon as a small, helpless animal. The baby, Grace, grew into an ungainly young woman who happily joined Thomas in his search for more information about Maria.
As the story progresses, more eccentric characters join the cast, but Sarah Perry always gives them dignity to ensure that their contribution is valued. Everyone has a back story, and each is struggling to better themselves in one way or another with varying degrees of success.
Overall, I would say this book was 'charming', and that's one of those old fashioned words that I don't feel the need too deploy very often, but here it seems to be the only one that will fit. I can see why the library recommended it.
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