I can't remember where I acquired this. It's not the most interesting of covers, and the blurb makes it sound a bit dull and miserable. But this turns out to be one of the best books I've read in a while. I wasn't prepared for the beauty of its writing, or its down-to-earth humour.

This is billed as a classic text, but it doesn't feel like a standard classic. It's very, very short, but perfectly formed. Every sentence has been chosen carefully, and there are no redundant words. This blunt but beautiful style suits the narrative, which is told from the perspective of a 1920s working class craftsman/engineer and expert on mediaeval art. He has suffered tragedy in the past, but the novel is mostly about the simple redemptive joys of one summer spent uncovering a mediaeval mural inside a small village church. The villagers he meets are fascinating in various ways, and he feels temporarily at home amongst them. It's a comforting - often funny - story, and very lovely to read.

Sent to another bookcrosser as part of the 2021 Virtual Convention book buffet.

I choosed the novel from the virtual book buffet. Thank you for sending this book via mail.
Have a good time & stay safe till we probably meet again with the other Guiness girls & guys.

Update: what a charming book! I can't say what I expected but I didn't expected that.
A tender story with many profound sentences that hit the heart. Sparkling beautiful jewels, a literary treasure that has impressed and touched me very much.

The reply to a question about his feelings growing old: .." I can't imagine, I mean I can't imagine it happening to me. It's too far away now. Well do you wonder ? You know what it was like. There can't have been many of us who thought we'd need to worry about growing old.....Oh come on. We went in and came out. That#s good enough for me. We're here on borrowed time, and I#ll take what's to come as it comes."
"And, at such time, for a few of us there will always be a tugging at the heart - knowing a precious moment gone and we not there."

" We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours for ever - the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed ona belfry floor, a remembered voice, the touch of a hand, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass."

"So in a memory, it stays as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down-pen."

This book no. 2 for the readers challenge „666 around the world in 2023“, counting for Europe, UK.
https://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/6/585714

RES

Collected from RazFaz in eine sehr laut Bar

A slender tome, a month in the country, a few characters, a bit of plaster scraped away and some idle thoughts.

How delicate and beautiful is this story. Every sentence carefully assembled, every word thoughtfully chosen. It is deep and insightful, poignant and hopeful, a look inside the tortured soul of a man with open eyes.

There are layers and twists in it; it deserves a second reading to uncover and enjoy the clever little secrets the author has planted for us, much like the mural the narrator is uncovering in the village church.

Every character is drawn in clear concise strokes, lovingly coloured, artfully arranged.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Now, shall I bring this light book to Falkirk with me?

Picked up from the convention buffet - thank you!

This was a short, ephemeral book - a returning WW1 veteran works on the restoration of a church mural in a Yorkshire village. Enjoyed this, thank you for sharing.

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