Near-future dystopian debuts have been quite the thing over the past 12 months – see Oona Aristide’s Under the Blue and Kate Sawyer’s The Stranding. Tom Watson’s evocative first novel follows suit.
Aina and Witney have been living in a dilapidated croft on a windswept island for 12 long years. She’s a musician, he’s a sculptor and his figures dominate the landscape. Their exile is a punishment for having had an illicit child after being denied permission by the state.
