Metronome: The 'unputdownable' BBC Two Between the Covers Book Club Pick

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For a novel depicting twelve years’ isolation for two people on an island, it can read like a veritable a-z of underlying themes such as: adversity, attraction, challenge, climate change, communication, companionship, construction, control, death, destruction, determination, distraction, distance, equality, existence, family, fear, health, human hunger, intimacy, lies, love, oppression, pleasure, pressure, rebellion, relationships, revenge, sacrifice, safety, scams, secrets, solitude, synchronicity, time, etc.

There are hints of a changed world, will they choose to leave and find out what’s out there, is there anything? We are treated to the geography of the island, the topography of ‘The Limits’ (aka ‘The Heights’) and its geology. I wonder if they’ve met, as there’s evidence of this in Watson’s multi-layered work; ‘fat, cold drops’ for rain, and “waves come as murmurs. I could chart it by my emotions: there’s a line in it that made me closer to feeling sick than any other for years and years.I came out of this book thinking I had mixed feelings about it, but it's starting to dawn on me that it's more an absence of any feeling at all. If you like your books dark, dystopian and creepy, and you don’t mind not knowing exactly what is going on, then you’ll love this one. The location is not exactly specified but certain factors (they live in a croft (a Scottish farm dwelling), shipwrecks often have Nordic names, the use of an ancient Celtic counting system, a nearby permafrost indicates a northern locale, etc. years, shipwrecks have washed up on the shore, empty with no sign of life and more recently, a sheep has appeared in their yard.

At various points I could see very different scenarios, and I worried that the back half: the explanation and possible resolution, would underwhelm or disappoint. Instead of leaving the story in a state of complete hopelessness, we are given some hope, which is almost immediately dashed by a 'deus ex machina' event and a scene, which may or may not be an illusion. Metronome is an addictive and hugely compelling novel, I was totally enraptured by the characters and the plot.In brief, Aina and Whitney have been exiled to an unknown island from an unknown country, and are tethered to a machine which dispenses a pill every eight hours that ensures their survival. Overall, I thought the story was very complex, interesting and really dived into what isolation can do to people.

The descriptions of the island were very atmospheric and detailed to the point that I found myself dreaming I was on the island!You never really learn anything about the outside society so you have to just imagine a future population controlled civilization also subject to the poisonous effects of climate change. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but there’s no denying that this is a well-written and satisfying page-turner.

Beautifully in fact, as we are literally exposed to the elements, so cleverly crafted in this debut novel. The claustrophobic feel of two people spending all of their time together, with no other human company is chilling, and the little niggles of doubt and blame between them, that grow with an intensity throughout is impeccably handled. As a condition of their stay, they must take a pill that is dispensed every 8 hours or they die, however their date of parole is coming up and they will soon be free – or will they? How is the pill dispenser made to be so reliable, adaptable and indestructible but maintenance-free? Things take an unexpected turn toward the end and the reader is left with a sense of both sorrow and hopeful joy.Using flashbacks Watson takes us back to Aina and Whitney’s life in an unspecified country which is very much like ours, but with small yet noticeable differences. This book was just picked up by chance, because I had seen a review of it in the local press, but it has certainly made me think more deeply than the words on the page. The pace and intensity increases as the story goes on, with an almost unbearable crescendo until the breathless last line.