The Outcast - Sadie Jones

Buy this book

Review by C.S.Hyde

This beautifully written novel takes place in an English village during the 1950’s, telling the tale of Lewis Aldridge. It starts in 1957 when Lewis returns home from prison aged 19, then zooms backwards in time, to ten years earlier when it is Lewis’ father returning home from war. Lewis’ mother, a clever, glamorous lady is involved in a tragic accident and Lewis and his Father are left on their own.

The pair handle their own grief in completely different ways and are unable to comfort each other; resulting in Lewis growing up and learning to in a sense look after himself, which combining his grief and being 10 years old leads to devastating consequences. As Lewis is involved in one catastrophe after each other, you can’t stop reading as you will him to better himself and for everything to turn out ok. Like watching a car crash, this book is both difficult to put down, yet difficult to continue with.

This haunting novel, while being quite easy to read, is written in such a manner that it will stay with me for a long time. I was one minute on the verge of tears, the next overwhelmed by anger, shock, then despair and then hope. A true emotional rollercoaster of a read, that leaves you wanting to know more.