Ambiguity abounds with the opening of this novel. Aina and Whitney have been incarcerated on an island, 24 miles long, five miles across at the widest point. They have been serving a 12- year sentence, but what was their crime?

They live in a croft which contains a pill dispensing machine that drip feeds them pills three times a day at eight-hour intervals. They have found out, with experimentation, that if they don’t take these pills, they quickly become ill, death a certainty. This leaves them always having to remain close to the machine, an effective means of imprisonment.

Whitney and Aina have served their 12 years and are due to be paroled. However, the day that the Warden is due to pick them up by boat comes and goes. A feeling of foreboding fills Aina with dread. Ominously, she is certain that something has gone terribly wrong. Whitney feels that it is a test and all part of the parole, even though they have lost all communication with the Warden on the radio as well. With no contact from the Warden, supplies start to dwindle and Aina and Whitney must start thinking about survival.

Watson does a great job of leaving the reader in the dark, we do not know what year it is, what has happened beyond the island, and he has created a dark dystopic feeling. However, as the narrative unfolds, he sheds more light on the story, slowly enabling me to start putting the puzzle together. This enticed me to keep reading to find out what was going on and kept me turning the pages, making it hard to put down.

A wonderful debut.

Reviewed by Neale Lucas

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Watson is a graduate of the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia, where he was the recipient of the Curtis Brown Prize in memory of Giles Gordon. His debut novel, Metronome, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and his short fiction has been shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize and awarded runner-up for the Seán Ó Faoláin Prize.

He lives in London.