Rachel Joyce and Peter Ackroyd look at fate through different lenses

MONTREAL — Do we have control over the lives we lead, or are we all at the mercy of fate? Two worthy novels, both set in class-conscious England, look at the way people play the hands they are dealt. Both stories start by letting us know that something bad is going to happen, but Perfect, by Rachel Joyce, has a soft edge that helps us cope with the foreboding. In Three Brothers, by Peter Ackroyd, we understand early on that we continue reading at our own risk: Destiny is not kind. Both stories unfold from alternating viewpoints. Joyce’s Perfect begins with Byron Hemmings, a hapless, lovable boy worrying over news from his best friend, James: Two seconds will be added to 1972, a leap year, to put the movement of the Earth in sync with time. Even at 11 years old, Byron’s instincts are good: Only disaster can come from messing with the universe. Within months, everything had changed and would never be put right. Read the rest of the article on the Montreal Gazette website

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