What We Did in the Dark Paperback – June 29, 2021

I was new to Ajay Close’s work but I was a fan by the end of the first page. Her prose manages to be both dense and light at the same time, packing in layers of meaning, stacking ambiguity while retaining a summery playfulness that hooks you from the start. The closest analogy for the punch her prose packs is Mohammed Ali – her sentences really do float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. The style perfectly suits the subject matter. It’s a book that announces its tragedy early on, undercutting the lightness with impending melancholy. This fictionalised Catherine Carswell is bright, witty, fiercely intelligent but with stormy depths, and it is a delight to spend time in her – and Close’s – company.

Book club choice - found it a compelling read. Such a courageous woman, caught up in a very dangerous 'marriage'. The section going through the alps was crazy. Living with that man was crazy and the way in which she was duped by those supposed friends was awful. Brilliant writing, with disclosures that were shocking to read.What grated on me was the (admittedly correct) use of the word scotch when I felt Scot or scottish sounds better. On one occasion she does use the word scot

The unusual use of different tenses at the start of the book made this hard going initially, but we'll worth persevering with. One small grumble...the use of the word "Scotch" instead of "Scottish"

AJ Close's novel brings to life the true story of the disastrous marriage of the young, talented, Catherine Carswell and her painter husband, Herbert Jackson in 1904. Close's research is as usual thorough and her grasp of language and detail enables her to bring a scene to life as effectively as any writer I know. She crafts the unfolding of her narrative using specific years to pin events down.As I read however, (and this is not a criticism, merely an observation,) I was constantly plagued by the question of what was research and what was invention. Not unusual in fictional depictions of factual events. Did Herbert really verbally abuse Catherine in this way? How long did it take Carswell to realise the folly of this 'union?' What we don't really know of course is what drove Herbert to behave in this way. Was it really his experiences in the Boer War or was it something that was always in his genetic makeup that surfaced so brutally during their honeymoon? Close does touch on previous incidents that might suggest instability but his jealousy and violence were beyond the pale. Credit to the author for tackling such a difficult subject as successfully as she does. Close is interested in the history of how women have fared in the last hundred years and this novel is an addition to her work on the Suffragettes. Carswell's biography of Robert Burns would be enough to establish her as a Scottish woman of Literary note. This novel further develops our knowledge of her as a real person. I wanted to know more about her.

The book arrived on Valentine's Day which I realised could not have been more inappropriate once I began to read. Ajay sets out trainwreck actions and choices with consequences both belonging in a less free era than now and yet resonating strongly with human relationships at any time. I cannot say it was an enjoyable read due to the author's ability to make the reader feel inside the head of Catherine but it was a compelling one. I read it over two days and dreamt of the newly weds' boat trip to France while storm Dennis disturbed my sleep at night.