The Book Game by Frances Wise

There is something wonderful and nostalgically English about this book. Set in rural Cambridgeshire in an untypical English summer (in other words, beautiful weather) eight people gather to spend a week reading, writing and talking about literature in a 'writers' retreat'. In between that there is swimming, drinking and fine dining in a luxurious country estate. Dreamy, right?

The hosts are a married couple, he is a lecturer who wears virtue-signalling slogan tee shirts, while his wealthy wife takes charge of the food. Each of the characters have their own point of view and enter the story with their own thoughts and journeys so that each one is pretty much rounded and we don't get confused with a list of names to match up. They are all interesting enough to keep the pace. Of course, they have their own ambitions, desires and secrets and they are subtly exposed.

This is a pleasant read, witty and comical in places, and the references to literature is always a bonus in novels about books and bookish sorts. I also enjoyed historical aspects of the area around Cambridge. Not keen on the chapters including several viewpoints, that's a tad confusing sometimes, but besides that the writing cannot be faulted and is always engaging. 

An immersive slice of the apparent perfect life, this book shows how all is not as its seems, with self doubt, envy, ambition, guilt, regret and desire running through the guests psyche. Other issues are addressed such as social class, privilege and colonialism, simply because what else do you do on alcohol-induced sultry evenings? A deep anxiety bubbles within all of the characters that creates tension, while the overarching theme is transparency.

The epilogue, however, moves away from the character-driven story and focuses on the future history of the house, which jars a little. Perhaps the real story was the house and not the people after all.

Beautifully written; in a way it is a light read with an academic slant.

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Published by Fourth Estate William Collins on 5 June 2025.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

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