How much can happen in the span of a single breath? You’ll want to read A Single Breath: A Novel by Lucy Clarke to find out.
Imagine this: You’re on a plane and you meet a man. You’re captivated by him. He makes you laugh and the flight speeds by. And then it’s over. But it’s not. Because he wants to see you again. And again and again. You fall in love. He’s like no one you’ve ever known. The definition of a whirlwind romance. Within month, you marry, and even though it’s not perfect (what is?), even though sometimes the dots don’t quite connect, you’re happier than you ever thought you’d be.
And then the unimaginable happens. He’s swept off to sea while fishing. In a single breath, it’s all over.
One moment, he was warming your early morning bed, and the next, he’s gone. Grief stricken, unable to move on, you visit his estranged father and brother and that decision turns everything you thought you knew about your love on its end.
This is the wonderful premise behind A Single Breath, the gorgeously ephemeral novel by Swimming at Night author Lucy Clarke. Engaging and expertly woven, Clarke’s intense story about one woman’s grief and the surprising discovery that follows is at once heartbreaking and engaging. Set in a fictional quaint fishing village off the coast of Tasmania, the book weaves gorgeous landscapes with the art of free-diving (hence the title) as it asks the most important question: Do we ever really know the person we love most?
The Brazen Take: It may be Summer but that doesn’t mean our brains don’t need exercising. This book is light enough for the beach but is just emotionally dense enough to keep us hooked. All at once, it sets up the character and the story to give us a bit of everything – love, friendship, mystery, suspense. And just to get the travel bug going, descriptions of the wilds of Tasmania are just enticing enough to have us pricing out plane tickets.
We’re pretty sure you’ll be captivated by this uplifting and melancholy summer read. We were.
