John Murray
Tom Shift and Oliver Keele are pen-pals. They were introduced through their respective cancer clinics. From reading Oliver's letters, To.m has deduced that Oliver is lonely and somewhat nomadic. He appears to live hand to mouth at a series of cheap B&Bs.When Oliver suggests they meet up, Tom agrees. Neither of them have long left. And, while Saltwash seems an unlikely kind of place for a holiday, he goes with it. The Castle Hotel is one of the few places still open in an off-season seaside town that has definitely seen better days but it's surprisingly busy. It becomes clear that the guests are all there for some kind of reunion, and that they know Oliver.
This was an odd little read, and I can't decide if it worked for me or not.
Essentially, this is a book length riff on Shirley Jackson's brilliant short story, 'The Lottery' but in Hurley's version 'Tom Swift', a regretful man coming to the end of his life thanks to a tumor deep in his brain, is invited to a meet up at a dilapadated hotel in the northern seaside town of the title. One there,instead of 'Oliver',the enigmatic penpal he expected, he finds himself amidst a strange assortment of individuals all inexplicably excited for thhe nigt ahead.
Hurley's a delightful writer, the story is populated with real, flawed, interesting people and the tale unfolds gently and with compassion, but in it's conclusion it all, for me at least, fell a little flat. It's an ending that makes sense but was less of one than I hoped for.
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