Swanfall

Swanfall is the sequel to Welcome. They say that it’s never a good idea to go back to a place you have loved. But what do they know? Sometimes you have to go back; sometimes things draw you inescapably back. Fifteen year-old Nick spends the days between Christmas and the New Year with his aunt Dina at her cottage on the marsh. When he was here back in the summer, he felt welcome for the first time in his life, even though he was caught up in the tragic story of a boy from the local village who was drowned in a boating accident. And now he feels welcomed back, not just by Dina, but also by her boyfriend Gerry purveyor of unlikely stories about various mates of his, by 92 year-old Charley brooding on his loss of language in his purple summerhouse, and by all the loonies who seem to have taken up permanent residence in The Strangled Ferret. The swallows that were so important to Nick back in the summer have long since left for Africa. Their place on the marsh has been taken by Bewick’s swans, recently arrived from the Russian Arctic. And it’s these swans that bring the gorgeous Chalcedony—a punk fairy—into Nick’s life. The countryside is locked down for the winter but there are still plenty of opportunities for everyone to drink too much, stage disreputable parties and even visit the circus. Every day that he spends with Dina reinforces Nick’s conviction that this is where he really belongs. Even though Revenant once again reveals its dark side and imposes new and terrifying responsibilities on him—responsibilities he has no choice but to accept—there is nowhere else he’d rather be.