Genre: Psychological/Literary
Fiction
Description:
““Nineteen seconds. That was all Lucy left behind.”
When Tom Kerr loses his sister without warning, the life he had
carefully kept moving begins to come apart.
There are meetings he can no longer pretend matter. A relationship he
has spent too long postponing. A blue mug carrying more history than an
ordinary object should. And one final voice message from Lucy—nineteen seconds
of an ordinary life that has suddenly become unreachable.
Tom leaves the city for Bellwether, a weather-beaten coastal town
where nobody knows the person he was supposed to be. There, among rough seas,
an ageing dog named Finn, unexpected friendships and long stretches of silence,
he begins to notice something he has spent years avoiding:
how rarely he has actually been present for his own life.
But grief is not a doorway that closes neatly behind us. And returning
to life may demand something harder than escaping it.
The Hours We Never Entered is an intimate literary novella about grief,
love, consciousness and the ordinary moments we keep postponing—a story for
anyone who has ever wondered how much of life passes while we are waiting to
begin living.”
Author:
“Ajesh Chacko writes emotionally driven fiction about memory, loss,
relationships and the truths people carry quietly through ordinary life. His
work combines psychological tension with intimate human stories, exploring the
moments that can change the way we understand ourselves and the people closest
to us.”
Appraisal:
If this book doesn’t get you thinking about life and its priorities,
you must either have your priorities nailed down and know it (possible, I
suppose), or you need to read it again because you weren’t paying attention
(the most likely reason, IMO). If you’ve ever unexpectedly had a close friend
or family member pass away, you’ll understand the struggle Tom, the protagonist
of this story goes through when his sister tries to call him, leaves a message,
and then she passes away minutes later. It’s a short read, but a good one.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words
