Lucy: (Salt Modern Fiction)

Paul Pickering’s new anti-war novel Lucy is about obedience and rebellion, how one survivor in the actual and moral wasteland of immediate post-war Berlin takes over the lives of three others, psychologically and sexually, in the way Hitler took over a country. The worldwide protests surrounding the 2024 conflict in Gaza mirror the rebel spirit at the heart of Pickering’s important, groundbreaking novel. Set partly in a German kibbutz, started by Nazis to remove Jews, there is a clash between utopian ideas and the toxic nationalism necessary to found the state of Israel. Operation Lucy, once an idealistic, anti-Nazi espionage ring, of which all the main characters are part, has become a self-devouring monster.  Lucy is darkly comic, showing how best intentions, when they pass through the looking-glass of human failings, change to the opposite. Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” means no escape because of contradictory rules, “Lucy” is the Lucifer paradox, where the only good is bad, and only bad is good. A thrilling, disturbing and utterly compelling read from one of the UK’s most celebrated authors.

About the Author :
Paul Pickering is the author of seven novels: Wild About Harry, Perfect English, The Blue Gate of Babylon, Charlie Peace, The Leopard’s Wife, Over the Rainbow and Elephant. The Blue Gate of Babylon was a New York Times notable book of the year, who dubbed it ‘superior literature’. Often compared to Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh, Pickering was chosen as one of the top ten young British novelists by bookseller WHSmith and has been long-listed for the Booker Prize three times. The novelist J. G. Ballard said Pickering’s work is ‘truly subversive’. As well as short stories and poetry, he has written several plays, film scripts and columns for The Times and Sunday Times.

Review :
★★★★★ Paul Pickering is the natural heir to Grahame Green and Evelyn Waugh. In Lucy, his latest novel, he sets the scene with a burning man running naked through the rubble of Berlin on the last day of WWII. What follows is a thoroughly engrossing read. All of the key elements we have come to expect are here to relish once more – bewildered central characters adrift in danger-filled locations, cultural clashes and political scheming, religious discord, brutal murders, dark personal secrets, and mysterious love interests. This is a tense, complex, darkly humorous, and ultimately thought-provoking story, with a strong sense of both time and place, and an intriguing cast of multi-national characters, who are not all they may seem. ★★★★ This wasn’t a standard novel about war, as you would find in the historical fiction genre. A very thought-provoking book at its best, with ideas and concepts explored around the what-ifs about the future and the consequences around them. Amid everything going on in the world currently, this was a little terrifying to read, given the conditions some parts of the world are living in. A good look at human nature and how it can be twisted for the wrong reasons. ★★★★★ Lucy stands out not just for its beautiful narrative, but also for its capacity to evoke deep reflection and empathy. Paul Pickering has created a timeless piece of literature that resonates on multiple levels, making it a must-read for anyone who appreciates finely crafted, emotionally rich fiction. Highly recommended for those seeking a novel that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally satisfying. ★★★★★ A very good and very important book, especially with the current genocide happening in Gaza. It’s very dark but I would definitely recommend. ★★★★★ What an exciting book! I loved it! Great characters, great story, and great writing. Pick this one up on publication day! J. G. Ballard once described Paul Pickering’s work as “truly subversive”. This would certainly be an apt description of his latest novel, in which he picks apart the morality of war and the creation of the State of Israel in the context of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. At the heart of this absurdist narrative is a love square between four protagonists … But the dark heart of the story is unsettling.