That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz By Malachy Tallack
Hardback published by Canongate 24th October 2024
ISBN 9781838854980
19.57. Sonny is working on a whaling ship in the South Atlantic, reckoning with the most vicious storms he has ever seen. It’s a brutal way to make a living. When he finally returns to his sheltered home to build a life with his wife and young son, the legacy of his time at sea is felt by all of them. In present day Shetland, Jack is an old man, living alone in the cottage where he grew up, in the shadow of the hill. And it is here, one evening, that something appears on his doorstep. Something that throws off the rhythm of his solitary existence in the most profound way. Tis is the story of unlikely friendship, longing, the power of music and the pull of home. It is about a life revisited and reimagined.
MY REVIEW Besides the blue wooden house at the other end of the track – which was called Puffin Cottage…..
Another brilliant novel by Canongate. I loved reading the whole story about Jack, who lives on his own, taking jobs wherever he can, keeping his house and his garden going to the best he can possibly do. He didn’t watch TV, his favourite hobby was listening to music, playing his guitar. If I closed my eyes I could hear the music Jack so loved to listen to. I thought he seems lonely, the only person he would speak to sometimes was in the local shop and a lady neighbour, whose husband had walked out on her. Jack received a box outside his front door, with no idea who sent it, but this precious gift would soon become company for him. Beautiful Atlantic Waltz is so beautifully written, the best part I could picture every scene in my head with Jack’s dad who used to be a whaler. Totally unputdownable! I even can see this story being turned into a film. I’m serious book bloggers, book clubs this is 100% the right book to choose, for your next read. Take a look on canongate books website or Instagram for your inspiration of wonderful authors and their books.
About author Malachy Tallack
Malachy Tallack is an award-winning author and singer-songwriter. His most recent book – his fifth – is a novel, That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz, set in Shetland. The book comes with an accompanying album. Malachy’s first book, Sixty Degrees North (2015), was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and his second, The Un-Discovered Islands (2016), was named Illustrated Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. The Valley at the Centre of the World (2018), was his debut novel, published by Canongate. It was shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize. Malachy is from Shetland, and currently lives in Fife. https://www.instagram.com/malachytallack https://www.Twitter.com/malachytallack
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