Book 7: The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood
Book 7: The Bellwether Revivals.
Author: Benjamin Wood, 2012.
Genre: Campus Novel, Psychological Thriller. Philosophy. Music.
Other Details: Large Print Hardback. 552 pages.
Bright, bookish Oscar Lowe has escaped the urban estate where he was raised and made a new life for himself amid the colleges and spires of Cambridge. He has grown to love the quiet routine of his life as a care assistant at a local nursing home, where he has forged a close friendship with the home's most ill-tempered resident, Dr. Paulsen. But when he meets and falls in love with Iris Bellwether, a beautiful and enigmatic medical student at King's College, Oscar is drawn into her world of scholarship and privilege, and soon becomes embroiled in the strange machinations of her brilliant but troubled brother, Eden, who believes he can adapt the theories of a forgotten Baroque composer to heal people with music. Eden's self-belief knows no bounds, and as he draws his sister and closed circle of friends into a series of disturbing experiments to prove himself right, Oscar realises the extent of the danger facing them all... - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
I first read this novel a few years ago ( 2013 Book 49) and elected to re-read when it was a library reading group selection. I was surprised at how much I had forgotten in terms of the plot so it was a good thing I did re-read.
Again, I found it a thought-provoking novel with elegant writing. The themes of music, healing and philosophy were sophisticated and certainly worthy of a re-visit. The novel was very well received by the group and generated a great deal of discussion on various aspects. It was one of the longest discussions we have ever had and certainly proved itself a successful choice for the group.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.