MY FIRST BOOK REVIEW:

NOURISHMENT BY GERARD WOODWARD

I’ve never really thought about how I would feel if I unintentionally ate a human leg, but somehow, Nourishment by Gerard Woodward made me feel as though I was there, with Tory and Mrs Head as they discussed whether this unintentional act was as inhumane as a deliberate act of cannibalism. Now, don’t get the wrong impression, this novel was not about cannibalism. Woodward manages to beautifully weave the theme of nourishment throughout his novel both spiritually and nutritionally whilst giving us a peek at the obscurities of human relationships during the Second World War.

Whilst Tory’s husband Donald is serving his country her mother, Mrs Head comes to live with her, as Tory is alone, her children being sent away during the course of the war. When they do not hear from Donald in quite some time, it comes as a shock when his correspondence comes. He is detained as a German POW, and requires from his wife, not food or nutritional-based nourishment, but dirty letters by return of post!

This sets in motion a train of events that me, as a reader would have never seen coming. I have to admit, I gasped out loud at least three times during the course of the novel, stayed up well past my bedtime on numerous occasions, and resented having to go to work and only having a forty-five minute period to become engrossed (and begrudged my own body for requiring food during this break, how ironic it would seem, once you read the book!). Nourishment is filled with strange but likable characters and events, and I know this sounds clichéd, but funny, sad and incredibly unpredictable. Two thumbs up for this Man Booker and Whitbread shortlisted author.