- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Portobello Books Ltd (4 Feb 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1846272297
- ISBN-13: 978-1846272295
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.4 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 78,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Still Point
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Review
'A beautiful, unearthly novel, in which secrets continually open out onto a wild glare of Arctic light' --Francis Spufford, author of The Child That Books Built
`Sackville writes with great assurance and wonderfully evokes the polar landscape and the atmosphere of the period. A most promising debut' --Penelope Lively
`Remarkable both as stylist and storyteller, Sackville unfolds a love story of compelling contrasts ... a fine and distinctive first novel'
--Maura Dooley
`The two worlds of ice and heat, a century apart, are carefully balanced by exquisitely restrained prose' --Guardian
`An exceptional debut novel ... She writes like a younger Rachel Cusk, precise poetry undercut by dry wit' --Financial Times
`Spanning a single day, the novel's dream-like structure belies its linguistic and emotional precision ... a poised beginning' --Daily Mail
'As iridescent in its writing as the snowy wastelands it evokes ... This is a novel of palpable promise' --Times Literary Supplement
'Sackville creates some soaring prose, full of elegance and confidence'
--The List
`Sackville writes with great assurance and wonderfully evokes the polar landscape and the atmosphere of the period. A most promising debut' --Penelope Lively
`Remarkable both as stylist and storyteller, Sackville unfolds a love story of compelling contrasts ... a fine and distinctive first novel'
--Maura Dooley
`The two worlds of ice and heat, a century apart, are carefully balanced by exquisitely restrained prose' --Guardian
`An exceptional debut novel ... She writes like a younger Rachel Cusk, precise poetry undercut by dry wit' --Financial Times
`Spanning a single day, the novel's dream-like structure belies its linguistic and emotional precision ... a poised beginning' --Daily Mail
'As iridescent in its writing as the snowy wastelands it evokes ... This is a novel of palpable promise' --Times Literary Supplement
'Sackville creates some soaring prose, full of elegance and confidence'
--The List
Product Description
At the turn of the twentieth century, Arctic explorer Edward Mackley sets out to reach the North Pole and vanishes into the icy landscape without a trace. He leaves behind a young wife, Emily, who awaits his return for decades, her dreams and devotion gradually freezing into rigid widowhood. A hundred years later, on a sweltering mid-summer's day, Edward's great-grand-niece Julia moves through the old family house, attempting to impose some order on the clutter of inherited belongings and memories from that ill-fated expedition, and taking care to ignore the deepening cracks within her own marriage. But as afternoon turns into evening, Julia makes a discovery that splinters her long-held image of Edward and Emily's romance, and her husband Simon faces a precipitous choice that will decide the future of their relationship. Sharply observed and deeply engaging, "The Still Point" is a powerful literary debut, and a moving meditation on the distances - geographical and emotional - that can exist between two people.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Julia is the great-grand-niece of Edward Mackley, a polar explorer at the turn of the century, who newly married to Emily, left on an expedition and was never seen alive again after a group of men set out for the North Pole from their ship the Persephone. Emily, effectively abandoned after their honeymoon, waited all her life for him to come back.
Julia, who is married to Simon, lives in the Mackley family house and is guardian of the archive from the ill-fated expedition. Some of the ship's crew survived, and eventually Edward's body was recovered along with his personal effects. Julia is an utter romantic and loved hearing all the stories of derring-do as a child.
The action in this novel takes place over twenty-four hot and sultry hours in the life of Julia and Simon. Their marriage is in something of a rut, but we start off in bed after a now uncharacteristic moment of passion. Simon, ever precise, goes off to work leaving Julia to work in the attic cataloging the collection, but she gives herself over to re-reading the ship's log and Mackley's diary on this hot summer day. Gradually Mackley and Emily's story and that of Julia and Simon reveal themselves to us as the day goes on, and there are surprises in store ...
I liked the way the author told us Julia and Simon's story in the summer heat and the present tense, and that of Emily and Mackley's arctic adventure in the past. The fact that it all takes place over one day made me cross my fingers that it wouldn't resemble If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor - another book that unfolds over a single day, but which I didn't get on with. However, my fears were unfounded; although this is a very contemplative novel too, it is totally focused on the two relationships within and a compulsive read. Although not a long book at just over 300 pages, it did take me longer than usual to read - I found I was often getting as dreamy as Julia and often needed to re-read paragraphs, especially during the first half. That's not a criticism, but the author's style took a bit of getting used to for me. Sackville is not yet thirty, but has managed to write a beautiful yet slightly uncomfortable novel about relationships and being taken for granted.
I couldn't finish without commenting on the lovely cover - probably the best I've seen this year. A brilliant cover for a brilliant novel. (4.5 stars)
Julia, who is married to Simon, lives in the Mackley family house and is guardian of the archive from the ill-fated expedition. Some of the ship's crew survived, and eventually Edward's body was recovered along with his personal effects. Julia is an utter romantic and loved hearing all the stories of derring-do as a child.
The action in this novel takes place over twenty-four hot and sultry hours in the life of Julia and Simon. Their marriage is in something of a rut, but we start off in bed after a now uncharacteristic moment of passion. Simon, ever precise, goes off to work leaving Julia to work in the attic cataloging the collection, but she gives herself over to re-reading the ship's log and Mackley's diary on this hot summer day. Gradually Mackley and Emily's story and that of Julia and Simon reveal themselves to us as the day goes on, and there are surprises in store ...
I liked the way the author told us Julia and Simon's story in the summer heat and the present tense, and that of Emily and Mackley's arctic adventure in the past. The fact that it all takes place over one day made me cross my fingers that it wouldn't resemble If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor - another book that unfolds over a single day, but which I didn't get on with. However, my fears were unfounded; although this is a very contemplative novel too, it is totally focused on the two relationships within and a compulsive read. Although not a long book at just over 300 pages, it did take me longer than usual to read - I found I was often getting as dreamy as Julia and often needed to re-read paragraphs, especially during the first half. That's not a criticism, but the author's style took a bit of getting used to for me. Sackville is not yet thirty, but has managed to write a beautiful yet slightly uncomfortable novel about relationships and being taken for granted.
I couldn't finish without commenting on the lovely cover - probably the best I've seen this year. A brilliant cover for a brilliant novel. (4.5 stars)
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this after hearing half of it on Radio 4's Book at Bedtime and was really impressed. It links together one day in the life of a modern day couple in London with a doomed quest to the Arctic. It's beautifully written, and has the kind of prose that stops you in your tracks. The influence of Woolf and Joyce are defininitely there, but the narrative voice is original and Sackville's really good at capturing the minutuae of a less-than-perfect relationships. I know people say this about lots of writers but this time it's really true! I have been recommending it to all my friends.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The beautiful imagery and personal detail Ms Sackville uses in the intricate narrative makes it a delight to read. It is a vividly drawn journey between the cold wastes of the north (almost feeling the frostbite), the loneliness of the waiting wife in Edwardian England, and the bittersweet relationships of today. A skilled wordsmith, the author draws you in through the intense highs and raw pain of that longed-for perfect romance, and confronts the frustrations and distances between lovers. On a practical note, the novel is a perfect length for a weekend curled up in front of the fire and will impress any lover of fine literature.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
not what I expected
I found this hard going and not what I expected. It's not about an explorer and his journey as I expected, but more the life and love of a modern day couple, Julia and Simon, who... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Book chatter
Love in a Cold Climate
'The Still Point' is one of those curious books, where I only realised how good it was after I'd finished it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Quicksilver
Trapped in the Arctic
Oh my, how I loved this book! I heard a tiny bit of the recent Radio 4 adaption and knew I had to remember to buy it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by AngieW
simply beautiful writing
This is a stunning debut from a young writer to watch. The prose is crisp and beautiful. The contrast between the hot sultry summer day and the cold white icy polar landscape of a... Read more
Published 10 months ago by sarah J
POIGNANT AND ATMOSPHERIC WRITING
This was a beautifully written book. The over-riding memory is the feeling of intense cold in the Artic, and the swealtering heat of Julie's house. Read more
Published 10 months ago by bibliophile
Like a long, meandering poem
The action in this book takes place over one day in summer in the life of Julia, who is married to Simon, and who is archiving the history of her great-uncle Edward Mackley who set... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Love Books
Well researched but lacked substance.
This book didn't 'grab' me. I found it slow. The plot was thin and Julia, great-grand niece of Edward Mackley, a polar explorer, was obsessed with his life to such an extent that... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Leicsliz
beautiful but strange
Some weeks after finishing this novel, I'm still not sure. There are two stories here: a hundred years ago, Edward Mackley sets out for the North pole but then disappears, leaving... Read more
Published 14 months ago by selliot
Exquisitely written
This is, as one of your reviewers suggests, dreamy and elegant - the story taking place almost as if behind a thin veil. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Big reader
Brilliant Debut
I'll keep this short - this writer has been compared to Woolf and Joyce, and it's to her credit that this brilliant book can withstand such comparisons; and indeed, that it can... Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Everington
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