Book description
p>
With the flood water washing up Church Lane towards the vicarage and
the shop running out of cigarettes it looks like a cold and complex
Christmas for Merrily Watkins in an ancient community forced to
untangle its own history against the swirling uncertainty of the future.
p>
Meanwhile, archaeologists, assisted by Merrilys teenage
daughter, Jane, are at work in Colemans Meadow, unearthing an ancient
row of standing stones which some people would rather stay buried. The
atheists temporary home is close to the site. And his young wife is
becoming conspicuously agitated. Is it the fear of discovery - or the
kind of fear that she, of all people, could never disclose? One thing
is clear: the last person whos going to be welcome in that house is an exorcist.<
December, and the river is rising. The village of Ledwardine has
never been flooded in living memory. Within days it will be an island.
Theres no electricity. The church is serving as a temporary mortuary
for two people who drowned. Only one man feels safer. An
aggressively-atheist author has been moved, for his own safety,
Rushdie-style, into a secluded house just outside the village.
Fundamentalist Christians have hated him for years. Now hes offended
the Muslims. Bad move.<
p>
With the flood water washing up Church Lane towards the vicarage and
the shop running out of cigarettes it looks like a cold and complex
Christmas for Merrily Watkins in an ancient community forced to
untangle its own history against the swirling uncertainty of the future.
p>
Meanwhile, archaeologists, assisted by Merrilys teenage
daughter, Jane, are at work in Colemans Meadow, unearthing an ancient
row of standing stones which some people would rather stay buried. The
atheists temporary home is close to the site. And his young wife is
becoming conspicuously agitated. Is it the fear of discovery - or the
kind of fear that she, of all people, could never disclose? One thing
is clear: the last person whos going to be welcome in that house is an exorcist.<
December, and the river is rising. The village of Ledwardine has
never been flooded in living memory. Within days it will be an island.
Theres no electricity. The church is serving as a temporary mortuary
for two people who drowned. Only one man feels safer. An
aggressively-atheist author has been moved, for his own safety,
Rushdie-style, into a secluded house just outside the village.
Fundamentalist Christians have hated him for years. Now hes offended
the Muslims. Bad move.<
