The Half Life of Snails by Philippa Holloway

 

Two sisters, two nuclear power stations, one child caught in
the middle...
When Helen, a self-taught prepper and single mother, leaves
her young son Jack with her sister for a few days so she
can visit Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone, they both know
the situation will be tense. Helen opposes plans for a new
power station on the coast of Ynys Mon that will take over
the family’s farmland, and Jennifer works for the nuclear
industry and welcomes the plans for the good of the economy.
But blood is thicker than heavy water, and both want to
reconnect somehow, with Jack perhaps the key to a new
understanding of one another.
Yet while Helen’s is forced to face up to childhood traumas,
and her worst fears regarding nuclear disaster, during a trip
that sees her caught up in political violence and trapped in
Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone, Jennifer too must discover that
even the smallest decision can have catastrophic and long-
lasting effects, both within the nuclear industry, and within
the home.
And Jack isn’t like other five-year olds...as they will both
discover with devastating consequences.

What did I think?

I have to say this book really took me out of my comfort zone - and it was unlike any book that I have read before.

The blurb sounded interesting adn I thought quite topical with what is going on in Ukraine at the current time. I watched a programme not too long ago where Ben Fogle visited the exclusion zone. Quite fascinating but very eerie.

I found it quite a slow read and by that it wasn't a story to be rushed. It was more about relationships and took a while to get going (maybe that is in reference to the snails in the title)

Very well written - the characters jumped out of the pages at me. And I enjoyed the locations of the stories too.

As I said quite a differnt read for me - and it might not be everyone's cup of tea. If you are ater an uplifting read then this might not be the book for you. 

Philippa Holloway is a writer and senior lecturer at Staffordshire University, living in England but with her heart still at home in Wales. Her short fiction is published on four continents. She has won prizes in literary awards including the Fish Publishing Prize, The Scythe Prize, and the Writers & Artists Working Class Writer’s Prize. She is co-editor of the collection 100 Words of Solitude: Global Voices in Lockdown 2020 (Rare Swan Press). Twitter: @thejackdawspen