Seventeen

'Seventeen' traces the daily lives of people in a small well-to-do English town with an ageing population
a story with threads
starting with a barking dog
how to deal with it
then there is the national obsession with war and the past, quite a story
older age and loss
animal life taking over; home improvements; skies and the weather
of course there are people
yearning to be seventeen
from the start there's Geoff Jenson, who aims to do seventeen lengths in the local baths
he rants
Francesca, who is almost seventeen
Abby is very elderly and has a friend Jennifer, who is concerned about the possible return of her one-time partner, Robert
Geoff Jenson has a partner, Alison, who thinks the natural world is exacting or about to exact retribution on the human world
Harvey works at an estate agents and comes closer to his colleague Miranda despite their differences
there is always someone who may be someone you know, as this is a proper town
with a lot of inhabitants, seventeen very prominent
and Ronald Blyth; the creek men; the physiotherapist; a film star; Valente, Mia,
Becky, Jack, Kitty, Roger, Shane
thrown in and told anew is the tale of the important archaeological discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship and its treasures, two of which are Edith Pretty (owning the land, having travelled the world) and Basil Brown (making the find, having gone to work on his bike)
only one person dies
logically the rest are still alive now
and always will be
there are apparitions, sculptures, a raft, all based, as is the entire story of Seventeen, on real events

The first chapter begins:

Chapter

A dog barks
in the historic riverside town

All the proceeds from Seventeen go directly to the Women in the World Foundation. This supports worldwide programmes helping girls go to school where they actively participate and enjoy their right to education.

John Saul has a website at www.johnsaul.co.uk