Just Arrived: “The Chimes” by Anna Smaill

The TBR table, discussed here, is still moderately high; nonetheless, I am very excited that Anna Smaill’s The Chimes (Sceptre, 2015) has arrived.

Not least because Anna Smaill is a fellow New Zealand author—but most importantly because the story sounds fascinating.

Here’s what the back cover has to tell us:

“A boy stands on the roadside on his way to London, alone in the rain.

No memories, beyond what he can hold in his hands at any given moment. No directions, as written words have long since been forbidden. No parents—just a melody that tugs at him, a thread to follow. A song that says if he can just get to the capital, he may find some answers about what happened to them.

The world around Simon sings, each movement a pulse of rhythm, each object weaving its own melody, music ringing in every drop of air.

Welcome to the world of The Chimes. Here, life is orchestrated by a vast musical instrument that renders people unable to form new memories. The past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphony.But slowly, inexplicably, Simon is beginning to remember. He emerges from sleep each morning with a pricking feeling, and sense there is something he urgently has to do. In the city Simon meets Lucien, who has a gift for hearing, some secrets of his own, and a theory about the danger lurking in Simon’s past.”
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There’s already been a lot of buzz about this book so I’m looking forward to delving further and finding out what it’s all about.

Comments

"Seregil of Rhiminee":

I also look forward to reading The Chimes, because it seems to be a book that’s worth reading. I’ve heard that it’s original and imaginative literary speculative fiction and will be of interest to readers who want to read something out of the ordinary.

April 16, 2015 at 08:25
- Helen Lowe:
  
  I’ll be posting some of my initial impressions tomorrow, if you’re interested.
  
  April 17, 2015 at 22:04