Hi Denise,

When I saw you'd read this, I hoped you might have written a longer review. Past the Shallows has had such coverage from bookshops - I think it's up for an Indie award for a debut novel - that I'm eager to read others' responses to learn why exactly.

I only finished it the other day, and I'm still stewing over it. I agree with you - the novel is impressive, bleak and uplifting, and the language used to describe the setting is exquisite. It unsettled me, though, and I expected to enjoy it more than I did. Maybe my mood?

Yes, mood has a lot to do with it! I didn't write a long review because there were already a few. But I did a long one for Dymphna Cusack's 1971 novel A Bough in Hell which might interest you.

Thanks, I just saw it. Sounds like a tough read!