I have only just closed the last page on this extraordinary book, and I think this is one I’ll return to time and time again.
The subject is horrifying, but it is a story that ought to be shared.
A school in the Somerset woodlands, full of children of all ages going about their daily lives. A noise is heard in the woods. Most think it’s a harmless prank, fireworks, but refugee Rafi recognises that it’s a bomb. The Headmaster is shot and he, along with older students, takes refuge in the library and surrounding classrooms. A group of students is in relative safety in the school theatre, rehearsing Macbeth, while a group of primary children are with their teacher in the pottery room.
Spread out as they are, this is an incredibly tense situation.
As we switch views and timings, we learn more about what is happening. We follow these incredibly brave children trying not to give in to their fear. We see teachers stepping into roles nobody should have to take on. We see the police procedure as they desperately try to resolve what quickly becomes a terrifying scenario. We watch in horror as we see the role media and the wider public world have in events. And we also get fleeting glimpses of desperate parents trying to find their children.
The events of this book take place over three short hours. Every moment of that time was depicted so clearly, and as events build to their chilling climax I was physically affected by my reading.
While I might, over time, feel more manipulated by certain revelations/events, I have to rate this based on my reaction as I was reading. Nobody should have to face anything like this. It’s a horrific time when such hatred is shared widely, and nobody challenges it. This book is testimony to what I’d like to feel is a common decency and determination not to give in to this hatred.