BOOK TOUR STOP x Random Things Tours - The High House by Jessie Greengrass

"It was extraordinary how quickly things fell apart, in the end."

Caro and her half-brother have two lives - before and after.

Before, they lived with their Father and Francesca in the city, until the world changed. All it took was a single phone call from their Father - they had to leave, to get to the High House and there was no time left … 

Now, at the High House that feels as though it towers above the world below, they live with Grandy and his granddaughter Sally. Together, they create their own special kind of family born out of love and fear. 

But even here, safe atop the hill they call home, in a place that time almost stands till, the time is still running out … 

"This is mercy, which is the best that we can hope for. We do what we can for one another. We try to be kind."
 

A strikingly poignant tale about a very possible future in which the climate crisis leaves the world dangerous, where living becomes surviving. With a tender yet terrifying beauty, there was a sincere reverence for the awe of the world around us and its power. 

There was a shocking normality throughout, a moving humanness to the daily lives of these four people living their daily lives as the days pass by mismatched jarringly with the haunting promise of the end hovering over them. 

Greengrass has a wholly unique writing style with odd visual appeal, but it has to be said there are so speech marks which can be off-putting for some readers. The lyrical prose along with the short, segmented chapters invoked a sense of suspension and timelessness, of wonder that illuminated through the pages. The passage of time moved weirdly, fluidly which at times left me dazed and confused but created an odd dream-like effect as though we were reading fragmented thoughts rather than a linear story. 

This story invoked feelings I can't quite put into words - wonder, utter terror, love, desperation. Every character was a complex beacon of light in a dark world, a shining example of the simple beauty of humanity and how resilient it can be despite its fragility. 

This is the very definition of a must-read. 

"At home, I knew how to be complete."

About The Author

Jessie Greengrass spent her childhood in London and Devon. She studied philosophy n Cambridge and London and now lives in Berwick-upon-Tweed with her partner and children. 

Her collection of short stories, An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It, won the Edge Hill Prize2016and a Somerset Maugham Award. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Sight, was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018.

Thank you to Jessie Greengrass and Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in this tour. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title.