Before the Swallows Come Back by Fiona Curnow - #bookreview

A knock on the door. 'On you go, sweetheart. It's for you.' His words, slow, breathy, like they had been pushed from somewhere very deep, very narrow. Charlotte grinned at her father, tip-toed to the door, let out a deep sigh, and pulled it open. The delivery man stood there with her birthday present. There was only one thing it could be. The size of it. The shape of it...

***

Tommy struggles with people, with communicating, preferring solitude, drifting off with nature. He is protected by his Tinker family who keep to the old ways. A life of quiet seclusion under canvas is all he knows.

Charlotte cares for her sickly father. She meets Tommy by the riverside and an unexpected friendship develops. Over the years it becomes something more, something crucial to both of them. But when tragedy strikes each family they are torn apart.

Charlotte is sent far away.

Tommy might have done something very bad.

Before the Swallows Come Back is a story of love, found family, and redemption that will break your heart and have it soaring time and time again as you sit on the edge of your seat desperately hoping.

***

I can hardly put into words how beautiful this book is. In all honesty, I had never heard of it until one of the members of my Book Group mentioned it. She was gifted a copy for Christmas and suggested that we all read it. I am so very glad that she did as it was a five shiny star read for me.

It is set in Scotland and the vivid descriptions made reading this visceral. In fact, I think the environment in this book is every bit as important as the characters. This is a book to get lost in. The natural world is so beautifully depicted I was completely immersed.

The main characters are Charlotte, a young girl who cares for her ill father, and Tommy, a Tinker who, with his family, set up camp every summer in the woods and fields a bike ride away from Charlotte's house. Every summer they meet and become the unlikeliest of friends. However, this bond strengthens as the years progress and it was a sheer delight to follow. Their friendship represents the coming together of two alternative lifestyles. 

One of the things which I loved about this book was the gentle pace at which it moved along. However, about half way through there are a couple of dramatic events which I definitely did not anticipate. From there, the book becomes more people centric with the dialogue and prose being every bit as engaging as its leisurely the first half.

The book is a love letter to the natural world and the environs of Scotland. The writing is exceptional and beautiful to read. I was mesmerised by it. It is one to be savoured. At times I slowed down my reading to take in its beauty, and I can well imagine reading this book again as there is something very special contained within it's covers.

This is a fabulous book and is an independent publication. If Ms. Curnow's other books are anything as gorgeous as this one, then I want to read them all. I highly encourage you to read it.

ISBN:  978 0995531499

Publisher:  Curnow

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  414 (paperback)

About the Author:

Fiona was the winner of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) short story competition, 2023. 

Her writing has been described as, "Human experience impacted upon by political situation, interwoven with a love of nature."

She dropped out of school aged fifteen, because being the consummate rebel, she hated it! After becoming a single parent she decided to return to education, graduating in 1996 with an honours degree in primary education. Ah, the irony! 

As soon as she graduated she packed everything she owned into her Renault 11, including her daughter, two dogs and a cat, and headed off to Estonia to become an international school teacher. 

After travelling the world teaching for fifteen glorious years she returned home to pursue a long held ambition of committing herself to full time writing.

She lives on the east coast of Scotland where her days are spent dog-walking and writing.

She has written four books under the name F J Curlew. She now also writes under her given name of Fiona Curnow.

(author media courtesy of https://fjcurlew.wixsite.com/author/bio)

(book and all opinions are my own)