Burntcoat

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The prose is utterly sublime throughout – graceful and elegant in tone, almost meditative at times, especially when conveying the intimacy between the two lovers.

Burntcoast it is extraordinary, proving once again (to quote the first line) that “those who tell stories survive. Our ' currently reading' micro-collections are limited edition shades inspired by the book currently on my bedside table. As her relapse progresses, Edith reflects on different aspects of her life, memories spanning her childhood on the margins, the route to becoming an artist, and her relationship with Halit – an experience she describes with an electrifying sense of intimacy.I’m pretending I never read it, instead remembering only Hall’s mastery of the written word and the stunning, evocative intimacy of Burntcoat.

I applaud Hall for her efforts and those other readers for their appreciation, even if the best thing about Burntcoat for me was the absolutely stunning cover. We also learn of Edith’s training as an artist, a process which takes her to Japan to learn the highly skilled process of ‘shou sugi ban’, a technique for charring cedar, rendering it waterproof. It's really interesting to compare and contrast it with Lucy by the Sea, another COVID novel which takes a different, but equally successful approach to the topic. I'm quite fascinated by this book, which deals on interesting questions of art, memory, and loss, and strangest of all, has a pandemic subplot that might turn off some readers for whom 2020 is fresh. In the bedroom above her immense studio at Burntcoat in north Cumbria the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness is making her final preparations.Two of Hall's previous novels have been Booker longlisted, and this feels an early contender for the 2022 Prize.