In the watery half-land of Norfolk’s saltmarshes, Pip attempts to piece together the fragments of his mysterious family history.  What happened to the man who was found buried in the mud, after he fell from the sky one early morning in 1944?  How did the marsh fever that claimed his mother and, increasingly, the rest of his family, begin?  And where will his lifelong infatuation with flame-haired Elsie lead?  In a land flavoured with smoke, fish and fire, where omens are read in the clouds, will Pip untangle this past or lose himself between the creeks and the samphire?

 

‘Striking, funny, terrifying.  I admired and loved it’

    MARGARET FORSTER

 

‘Stunningly good.  Captures the landscapes with a truly deft, water-colourist’s touch.  His ear for Norfolk cadence is acute’

    ROSE TREMAIN