Hope

Hope is the first non-Project Renova novel of Terry Tyler's that I've read and I absolutely loved this story. It's a science fiction thriller, but set in a world that is so chillingly close to the present day UK that I wouldn't be surprised to see Hope Villages announced as an actual Tory proposal by the end of the year. Through Lita and Nick's experiences we see just how easy it is to slide from doing well to just about holding on to homelessness - and this really isn't futuristic science fiction. It's happening right now. Even the hardened attitudes of 'friends' and family are shockingly well portrayed. I was frequently reminded of the weekly newsletters my old MP (I've moved, he's still there) sent out exhorting constituents not to show compassion directly to the area's many homeless people, but only to donate to one particular charity which was best placed to determine genuinely homeless people who deserve help. (As, presumably, opposed to lazy shirkers who are just freezing to death for a laugh.)

Hope, for me, was an emotional read. The central storyline brought a lot of my anger bubbling back up at how ingrained socially unjust ideas have become in the UK. Tyler's strong writing enabled me to empathise with Lita and Nick to such an extent that I was actually reduced to tears at one point. I'm obviously not going to spoil by revealing at which point - you'll have to read Hope for yourself! - but I rarely blub at books so the moment was unexpected and very moving.

While I would love to be able to dismiss Hope's ideas and themes as implausible - this couldn't possibly happen Here - I'm afraid Tyler's perceptive understanding of human nature will prove well placed and sooner rather than later. After mid-December's bitter disappointment and disillusionment, reading Hope at the start of a New Year and a New Decade has given me a welcome boost of energy to get back protesting against society's slide into commercialised despair. An insightful and exciting thriller!