Book Review: We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt

 

We Own the Sky

by Luke Allnutt

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Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Park Row (April 3, 2018)

A triumphant story about love, loss and finding hope—against all odds

“We looked down at the cliff jutting into the sea, a rubber boat full of kids going under the arch, and then you started running and jumping through the grass, dodging the rabbit holes, shouting at the top of your voice, so I started chasing you, trying to catch you, and we were laughing so hard as we ran and ran, kicking up rainbow showers in the leaves.”

Rob Coates feels like he’s won the lottery of life. There is Anna, his incredible wife, their London townhouse and, most precious of all, Jack, their son, who makes every day an extraordinary adventure. But when a devastating illness befalls his family, Rob’s world begins to unravel. Suddenly finding himself alone, Rob seeks solace in photographing the skyscrapers and clifftops he and his son Jack used to visit. And just when it seems that all hope is lost, Rob embarks on the most unforgettable of journeys to find his way back to life, and forgiveness.

We Own the Sky is a tender, heartrending, but ultimately life-affirming novel that will resonate deeply with anyone who has suffered loss or experienced great love. With stunning eloquence and acumen, Luke Allnutt has penned a soaring debut and a true testament to the power of love, showing how even the most thoroughly broken heart can learn to beat again.

“A breathtaking read that describes perfectly the joy and pain that comes with loving fully and all the compassion and forgiveness it requires. Brimming with hope to the very end.” —Steven Rowley, bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus

“Anyone who wishes David Nicholls would write faster needs to grab this with both hands. It’s a truly stunning achievement.” —Jill Mansell, Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Oh those Facebook mothers. The way they talked, as if they had invented motherhood, as if they had invented the womb, telling themselves they were different from their own mothers because they ate quinoa and had cornrows in their hair and ran a Pinterest board on craft ideas for the recalcitrant under-fives.

Her eyes are like lizard tongues, darting toward me when she thinks I’m not looking.

There was a strange musty smell in Anna’s parents’ house: it reminded me of Werther’s Butterscotch or the jasmine-scented handkerchiefs old people put in their drawers.

Too soon. He was seventy-four. He’d had his three score and ten. David Frost had probably spent more time on the toilet than my son had been alive.

I should have listened to my dad. He liked a drink, but hated drinkers. It’s all about them, son, he had told me, boring old bastards, always droning on. All them clever thoughts, son, but the boy could hardly stand. Because it gets you like that, the booze. It makes you think you’re unwrapping the world. But you’re not. The world is unwrapping you.

My Review:

This book gutted me, but in the best way possible.  Cleverly written with wit and observantly insightful detail that tapped all the senses, I was engaged and invested throughout this tragic yet uplifting and transformative journey.  I was staggered by the knowledge that this stunningly crafted work was Mr. Allnutt’s debut.  I was quite taken by his well-honed and smooth writing style, which pulled me right into the vortex of a loving and desperate father’s cranium.  I felt and absorbed his jubilance as well as his disequilibrium and misery.  The premise was relevant and moving while the prose was heart squeezing and emotive.   I fell in love with the adorable little Jack.

Empress DJ

About Luke Allnutt

Luke Allnutt grew up in the U.K. and lives and works in Prague.

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