Review: The Outcast by Sadie Jones

I was so glad to have read this book for my second review to start off. The story grips the reader through the events that poor Lewis must endure through his struggle after a devastating experience which would change him

The story begins as the main character Lewis at 19 leaving the prison and returning home. Which leaves the question to the reader, why was he put there in the first place? As the story unfolds from him as a child to the emotional end, you understand why he commits the act and why he harms himself and others.

Since this book is set post World War 2, there are subtle hits which represent Britain repairing after the war, which lead to the problems of Lewis living in the 50s. There is an air of authoritarianism as Lewis responds to his Father as ‘sir’ and the emotional response to the death of Lewis’s mother which would begin his downward spiral.

However during this time he escapes to London on a few occasions. This escape was a reminder of his mother during the summers he was back from school. It does show the ever changing London after the war and how much more free it was unlike the village he lives in. However the book reminds us that escapes are only ever a short term solution to problems and sometimes the problems are worse when you come back.

As well as Lewis we learn about another character known as Kit who is devoted but yet distant with Lewis. You find her going through the struggle of being brought up in a household where her family are frightened by the father of the house. His position in the story is ‘leader’ of the community and therefore of the house. His presence represents the leadership which would have been needed post war Britain. However she struggles on and tries to be brave and avoids the path Lewis takes.

During Lewis’s childhood there is a sense of being part of the community and following the same routine. The fact he had lost his Mother and must follow the same unemotional routine day in and day out, tries to break this routine would suggest the need of change for himself and the rest of the country. This is a good example of post war communities, when people were meant to communicate constantly and live in fear of change.  This could easily represent the bridging of the 50s to the 60s.

This book has many twist and turns and the way that the author writes the scenarios keeps the reader gripped onto the story and emerges you into this forgotten world of yesteryears. I can see why this was in the Richard and Judy summer reads. I wish I had read this earlier but to sum up this book in one word could be used which was amazing.

Overall : 8.8/10