by M. J. Hyland
First published 2009
Patrick Oxtoby arrives at a small boarding house in a British seaside town, carrying the weight of his broken engagement. He wants to start over, to build something different from the ruins of his former life. Patrick throws himself into this fresh beginning with determination. He tries to connect with the other residents, seeks work, attempts to establish routines that might anchor him to this new place. But his efforts repeatedly fail. Conversations go wrong. Opportunities slip away. Small misunderstandings grow into larger problems. The town that seemed to offer refuge begins to feel hostile. Other people seem to move through their days with an ease that eludes him completely. Patrick watches his careful plans crumble again and again. The gap between what he wants and what actually happens grows wider each day. The world feels arranged against him, as if some invisible force is working to undermine every step he takes. Eventually, the accumulated weight of these failures becomes too much to bear. Patrick reaches a breaking point where something inside him finally gives way.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: British Seaside Town
Period: Contemporary
367 pages · Paperback · Mouria
Content warnings: mental-illness