Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "james-runcie"

The Road to Grantchester by James Runcie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


James Runcie's prequel to his mystery series delves into the past to reveal Sidney Chambers' road to Grantchester.

On the eve of war, Sidney dances with his best friend's sister, Amanda, unaware of the horrors he will soon be facing. We travel with him to the battlefields of the Second World War, Sidney and his friends stationed in Italy; a small number amongst thousands in the Allies' march across Europe. We witness their fear and their deprivation, the cold and the hunger, the tragic loss of life. Yet they strive on, as to not would be to lie down in the mud and die. There is none of the moral logic or aspiration to the greater good evident on the battlefields, nor witness to toppling the political evils of fascism - it is days building to weeks, then months, then years; of simply surviving day to day and wondering if they will live to see tomorrow, as the clashes between two opposing armies continue unabated. There are moments when they question what they are fighting for - the soldiers on the opposite side do not seem so different to them. One particularly poignant scene shows the armies cease battle, soldiers mingling with soldiers of opposing armies. It is gut-wrenching that there must be so much loss of life with so little purpose apparent. Amongst this, Sidney questions the meaning of it all, the moral dilemmas, the introspection of life itself.

Sidney returns home haunted, struggling to heal unseen wounds, heavy with grief and loss. He is seeking a purpose to his new life in a time of peace. The only thing that calls to him is the Church, but that is not to say he finds faith easy to embrace. Friends and family oppose his choice to pursue a career in the priesthood of the Anglican Church, but Sidney is steadfast in his belief that he has found his calling. Through Sidney, we feel his moral burden and the struggle it can at times be to be good and just and make the right choice, particularly at moments when it may not be clear what that should be.

This is also the beginning of the tragic love story between Sidney and Amanda. For me, these two belong together, but there is always something that stands in the way. This is the story of how that began. So well played by James Norton and Morven Christie in the TV series, it is those actors whom I see and hear on the pages. Against the cold, stark brutality of wartime, succeeded by both the celebration and struggle of peacetime, I was swept along by the hope their relationship would blossom, despite already knowing what the future would hold.

It's worth pointing out that this is not a mystery as you may expect from the previous books in the series, which the story told in this book precedes. This is a tale of human perseverance, the discovery of faith and unexplored love. Thought-provoking, character-driven and beautifully written, 'The Road to Grantchester' is an engrossing and poignant novel - the perfect prequel to the Grantchester series, both in print and on the screen.



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