Metronome: The 'unputdownable' BBC Two Between the Covers Book Club Pick

Product Information

And these pills? Do they really need them to survive? And what exactly has happened that makes them need them? You are going to want to google Can Sheep Actually Swim? very soon after starting this book, so I've saved you some time.

The book is short and very pacy, with a lot in it to hold my interest and I finished it in two sessions on a particularly long train journey. I enjoyed the story and was really intrigued with it although I would have liked a little more world building to tell me about the world outside the island. The plot is very character-focussed, told from the perspective of Aina, and we are rooting for her throughout the story, with occasional chapters dedicated to (vaguely) explaining what happened before to cause them to have been exiled. I would have liked a little more explanation as to why these rules had come into existence and also how the punishment system was supposed to work, as well as a little more information about the pills. When a later event regarding the mainland is introduced, this is also skimmed over and I would have liked a little more speculation from the characters as to what had happened as well. Between The Covers (7 x 30’) was commissioned by Emma Cahusac, BBC Arts Commissioning Editor. Created and produced by Cactus TV, Exec Produced by Amanda Ross with Series Producer Pollyanne Conway.

Wrap Up

I have fully crafted a 3d Revolving island in my head where I can see characters arriving and living on the island. I can also see onto the island from a boat and so have the view of an outsider as well as having lived on the island for sometime. Are the answers essential to the story? Probably not, but when you start pondering such questions mid-book it is obvious that the 'magic' of the story has not drawn you in and you are no longer able to 'suspend disbelief'. It does also get an Ambiguous Ending Alert ™ though. The ending is in somewhat of a delirium state due to events, so what then occurs can be taken in various ways. You can imagine a 'happy ending' if you like, although realistically it seems unlikely. Anyway, if you don't like those sorts of endings, be forewarned. The couple's environment while beautiful is a little too harsh for easy living, and the couple's personalities are contrasting rather than complimentary: Afterwards, I sat in stunned silence for about five minutes, then went down a rabbit hole looking up “yan tan tethera”, discovering that’s it’s an ancient method of sheep-counting traditionally employed by shepherds in the North of England.

This is dystopian fiction at its best. Just like the great Margaret Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale, this author doesn't inform the reader of how the world becomes what it is in this story. It takes some time before we learn what crime Aina and Whitney are guilty of, and when we realise, we see the horror that the world has become, it's so clever and so compelling, and nothing is as expected. I read this in two sittings, inhaling every word. I think we can conclusively say that dystopian/speculative fiction is my favourite genre. When a sheep turns up, they start to question if they are actually on an Island. But the eight hour intervals between their life-saving pills doesn’t give them enough time to explore the island in its totality. There are more clues - but I won’t spoil it. More exciting news for another of our 2016 shortlistees: Tom Watson’s debut novel, Metronome, will be published by Bloomsbury in spring 2022.

The intriguing premise prompted me to buy this without knowing anything about the author's other work.

The writingstyle is very atmospehric, and beautiful. And the claustrophobic feelings and thoughts that go with exile were very well portrayed! In brief, Aina and Whitney have been exiled to an unknown island from an unknown country, and are tethered to a machine which dispenses a pill every eight hours that ensures their survival. They’ve been in exile for twelve years and are awaiting parole when one day a sheep turns up, but sheep can’t swim so where has this one come from? This is a novel which is chilling and powerful. The ending is one which will stay with the reader for some time as Aina’s hope for parole and a return to her community simply bleeds away. They can only survive if they take a pill every eight hours, which is automatically dispensed from a machine.Stylish and thoughtful … The eerie claustrophobia of the setting will stay with the reader for a long while.' Literary Review She is ambitious, industrious, working hard to create whatever they need and investigating their surroundings. He is passive and compliant, spending time on his art projects and acquiescing to their fate. This book really emphasises the two types of people - those who accept what is, and those who try to chang their situation. The events move along at a good pace - for life on an exile island, and soon all is revealed to be not as we, or they, were lead to believe. For twelve years Aina and Whitney have been in exile on an island for a crime they committed together, tethered to a croft by pills they must take for survival every eight hours. They’ve kept busy – Aina with her garden, her jigsaw, her music; Whitney with his sculptures and maps – but something is not right. Metronome is beautifully written, with prose so lyrical and moving. The author captures the pure desolation of the landscape, with the weather playing such a large part in the story. There are passages that made me take such a deep breath, he describes the simple things, such as a candle being snuffed out with such care and precision - I could almost smell the molten wax as the flame fluttered and died.