BOOK REVIEW: A Year of Marvellous Ways

Sarah Winman's novel recalls the life of gypsy Marvellous Ways. A solitary figure nearing the end of her life, she finds nothing is predictable with the arrival of an unexpected character.

The meandering reminiscences of female protagonist Marvellous Ways lead the reader into the enchantment of this poetically written story.

The year is 1947 and Marvellous is nearing the end of her life, much of which has been spent living in an isolated gypsy caravan by a tidal creek in Cornwall, England. It’s a solitary existence – but that is about to change. In the flicker of a dream sent by her lost love, Marvellous is told to wait, but for what she doesn’t know.

We then meet Francis Drake, a washed-up remnant from the war, barely coping with life, but reluctantly returning to England to fulfil a promise made to a dying soldier. Is it chance or destiny that brings the two characters together for a year?

This whimsical delight is the new novel from the author of When God was a Rabbit – and is a wonderful distraction.