Marcus Sedgwick was one of my favourite writers as a teenager, so when I learned he’d written a book for adults, I was keen to check it out. A Love Like Blood retains many of the elements of his YA fiction – a Gothic feel, a historical setting, and elements of the supernatural – while delving into more adult themes such as desire, grief, and obsession. I thought it was a smart, literate, and gripping delve into a disturbing and violent underworld.
The story follows Charles Jackson, who witnesses a horrific act just after the liberation of Paris in 1944. He’s stationed there as a soldier and by chance enters a cave behind a museum to find a man drinking the blood of a young woman. He flees in terror, and spends years torn apart by guilt, thinking he could have saved her. In 1951, he returns to Paris as a haematologist and comes across the same man in a cafe with another young woman, Marian. This time he intervenes, falling in love with Marian while warning her about her dangerous friend. A chain of events begins that results in Charles pursuing the blood-drinking fiend over a decade, risking his life in the process.
There’s a sense with the book that Sedgwick is finding his feet in an adult mode after so long writing for children and young people. That’s not to say it lacks confidence – it’s an assured and tightly written work from a novelist with experience. It’s more that he’s testing the waters to see what works and what doesn’t, flexing different muscles, and pushing at the boundaries of what he can get away with. It creates a feeling of unpredictability, making for a more interesting reading experience.
It’s a pacy and involving read, the feeling of claustrophobia increasing as the cat-and-mouse game between Jackson and his nemesis tightens. Sedgwick does a good job of gradually shifting the stakes, keeping the reader on their toes. He creates a vivid sense of place as Jackson crosses Europe, moving from Paris to Avignon, Glasgow, Cambridge, and finally the villain’s lair. Each setting is well-realised and given its own distinct personality.
In between the action, Sedgwick spends some time musing on the novel’s main subject: blood. The meaning of blood is one of the main themes, and its importance to our culture, society, bodies, and lives. It’s a thought-provoking angle to take, one which Sedgwick explores in many different ways: Jackson’s scientific interest, the villain’s obsession, and the role it plays in history and ritual.
I was thoroughly absorbed by A Love Like Blood. It was great to return to an old favourite, and I’m glad that Sedgwick has maintained his quality in the crossover to adult fiction. He’s since written two more books for adults, Mister Memory and The Monsters We Deserve, and on the strength of this I’m keen to check them out.
Review by Charlie Alcock
There’s a sense with the book that Sedgwick is finding his feet in an adult mode after so long writing for children and young people. That’s not to say it lacks confidence – it’s an assured and tightly written work from a novelist with experience. It’s more that he’s testing the waters to see what works and what doesn’t, flexing different muscles, and pushing at the boundaries of what he can get away with. It creates a feeling of unpredictability, making for a more interesting reading experience.
It’s a pacy and involving read, the feeling of claustrophobia increasing as the cat-and-mouse game between Jackson and his nemesis tightens. Sedgwick does a good job of gradually shifting the stakes, keeping the reader on their toes. He creates a vivid sense of place as Jackson crosses Europe, moving from Paris to Avignon, Glasgow, Cambridge, and finally the villain’s lair. Each setting is well-realised and given its own distinct personality.
In between the action, Sedgwick spends some time musing on the novel’s main subject: blood. The meaning of blood is one of the main themes, and its importance to our culture, society, bodies, and lives. It’s a thought-provoking angle to take, one which Sedgwick explores in many different ways: Jackson’s scientific interest, the villain’s obsession, and the role it plays in history and ritual.
I was thoroughly absorbed by A Love Like Blood. It was great to return to an old favourite, and I’m glad that Sedgwick has maintained his quality in the crossover to adult fiction. He’s since written two more books for adults, Mister Memory and The Monsters We Deserve, and on the strength of this I’m keen to check them out.
Review by Charlie Alcock
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