Wood's daring narrative decisions show he hasn't lost the old spark, but has just added to it with his new repertoire." - The Critic A novel about architecture, ambition, crime and guilt. It takes place in the early 1950s, and is set mainly on the Surrey farm where Arthur and Florence Mayhood are attempting to set up both an architect’s practice and a self-sufficient commune. Their inspiration is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in Wisconsin, but their community has only two members, brother and sister Joyce and Charlie Savigear, young offenders recently released. Through dramatic time jumps and a sure ear for dialogue, Wood builds up convincing levels of psychological depth in all the main characters. Arthur is saintly in his determination to see good in everyone, and to rise above a major disability. Florence is his loyal, pragmatic companion, prepared to act also as driver and mechanic. Charlie is determined to overcome all obstacles to make it as an architect, and such is his practicality and willingness to learn, that we suspect he will. His older sister Joyce, six foot tall and immensely strong, has however come to the commune with hidden motives.

This week, on Y&R , Claire Grace (Haley Erin) goes off the rails as she lures Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) into a trap. She says she needs to visit her injured great-aunt. Of course, Nikki is supportive and tells her to take all the time she needs. Benjamin Wood knows how to generate tension, makes lively characters you can see and hear, and writes about rural England in a sensitive, considered way that doesn't stray into the nostalgic. A huge talent Hilary MantelBenjamin Wood is a beautiful writer and this is his best novel yet, both gripping and unputdownable’ Andrew O’Hagan It is about the lives of contemporary artists, a painter, a novelist, a playwright, and an architect. These four characters reside in an artist colony on a Turkish island. Becoming a resident involves a torturous path to acceptance but one requirement is that the artist must have had success and then somehow lost the muse of inspiration. Was this how it was going to be for ever? Wrapping things for customers in womenswear, no conversation. Polishing the counters so her face reflected in the brass and sweeping floors at closing time until the boss said she could leave. How much worse off would she be if she went driving with a stranger for a while?'

I don't know how I heard about this book. It was just published in the United States in May (Benjamin Wood is British) and as I recall, I read a review or two and instantly requested it at the library. I loved it completely. Eventually we learn her history, a study in the uncertain life of a painter and the pressures of commercial success. As much as I was enthralled with the whole setup at Portmantle, I became even more invested in Elspeth's life story.

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Young and the Restless two-week spoilers see Claire Grace‘s crazy showing as she puts a plan into motion in the two weeks of November 13-24, 2023. Excellent! A crossover between a mystery and historical fiction, an exploration of the the all-consuming nature of artistic work, The Ecliptic was an easy sell, a seemingly perfect fit to my personal tastes. The novel explores the power of imagination and the mind, the boundary between the real and the illusory, the mysteries of identity, and the relationship between madness and creativity. And that's all I can say about the plot. Anything more is going to spoil major revelations that come in several bursts, upending each other, in the final quarter of the book, and while telling you what they are might not actually spoil your enjoyment - because it's all so beautifully written and beautifully crafted regardless, and this is a story that has twists rather than relying on them - I think it's better if you don't know. When a star dies it swells to a shimmering mass, collapses in on itself, and eventually bursts outward. That is an apt metaphor for my brain while reading THE ECLIPTIC.