A Revolution Of The Sun by Tim Pears (Windmill)
by Patrick O’Connor
SOMETIMES multi-strand novels can become too complex, too difficult to follow, to the extent that the reader is constantly flicking back through the pages to remember who’s who.
A Revolution Of The Sun examines a full year in forensic detail, starting on January 1, 1997, through the eyes of a host of unconnected people – such as a pregnant woman, an amnesiac, a Conservative MP, a long distance lorry driver, a father and his young son who suffers from cerebral palsy and most intriguing of all, a female cat burglar.
But Tim Pears is such an accomplished writer that the constant flicking from character to character works a treat.
The novel is just short of 500 pages and Pears peeps into contrasting worlds, the political elite, the drug/clubbing scene, animal vivisection and life in a tough Manchester estate. There is also a mystical, almost spiritual element as illustrated by the occasional appearance of a mystery man dressed in yellow who appears to know all.
And the real treat comes in the final section of the book when the author skilfully brings all the strands together in a poignant and ultimately uplifting finale.