A Ripple of Darkness
28th May, 2023
Born into a poor household in 1860’s London, George experiences a terrible trauma as a thirteen-year-old when he believes his friend has drowned in the Thames. George blames himself and it haunts and shapes his life, with the incident constantly replayed and changed in his memory.
‘George had found the regular discharge of the ship’s guns, followed by the roll, then the ship righting itself, then the pause, then the whole cycle repeating, oddly comforting. As the hours passed it was as if nothing else was happening, and that nothing else would ever happen. Here he was, sitting with his mug of tea in an endless noisy, repeating ritual, knowing, while it went on, nothing else could. He was there and nowhere else. There was no past and no future, and that satisfied him.’
Reviews for A Ripple of Darkness
A must read
A mini epic following the life of a working-class man born in 1860 up to the first world war. The book brilliantly evokes the feel of the times in which it is set, and the childhood trauma that affects the main character. The narrative ends with a dramatic and challenging conclusion. A must read.
A great story full of wonderful characters, I couldn’t put it down!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! In fact, I had another book that I was reading when I got this and thought I would just read a couple of pages and then go back to my book. But once started I couldn’t put ity down! John really captured that period of history and the poor people of London. I loved all the characters especially George and couldn’t wait to see how his life turned out.
A fascinating story of an 1800s working class man and his journey from London to Sudan and back.
The characters jumped out from the page of this mostly forgotten period of British history. Well worth the effort to read.
I didn’t want it to end
It read really well with well-developed characters, plenty of sadness/tragedy which felt real and indeed would have been real in the lives lived in those times.