Very relevant to today's situation in post-Brexit post-Pandemic Britain, and that's before the climate emergency really hits us. The book Noah’s Castle most reminds me of is Christopher Priest’s 1972 speculative fiction Fugue for a Darkening Island. While this book was fascinating partly because it is a window into some of the pessimistic ideas floating around in the '70s, the book itself is a bit dull and predictable. Richard McKenna grew up in the visionary utopia of 1970s South Yorkshire and now ekes out a living among the crumbling ruins of Rome, from whence he dreams of being rescued by the Terran Trade Authority.

Now that I got that out of my system I will attempt to explain why I feel so strongly about a YA book that is only 211 pages long. Mention Britain in the 1970s to anyone and you'll invariably get the same responses of 'winter of discontent', 'Dennis Healey going cap in hand to the IMF', 'streets piled high with rubbish because of council strikes' and 'gravediggers refusing to bury the dead'. Episodes focused around how living in this new UK with is almost military junta government affected the main characters lives.Nessie thinks everything her father is doing is wrong, she finds is abhorrent that her father thought ahead and hoarded food for his family when other people are doing without.

I think it's important to keep that in mind while reading, as while most of the book stands the test of time, there are parts which are a little dated. However, the ideas and plot of Noah’s Castle quite possibly trumps them all in such terms; it is a series that has at its core hyperinflation, food shortages, societal collapse and a patriarch’s attempt to hole up and bunker away with his family in their middle class home (the “Castle” of the title). Unbeknownced to Norman, his secret may be out, and some greedy locals may be looking to clear him out. The noble thing to do is take care of your family first, to make sure that the children you brought into this world are provided for.

When people are not able to easily (or at all) obtain food, the seemingly strong fabric of society frays almost instantly. Norman, viendo que se aproximaba una crisis quiso prevenir a tiempo cualquier contratiempo que la familia pudiera tener, y para ello el compro una gigantesca casa en las afueras y se aprovisiono con víveres lo mas que pudo, pero el único en su familia que estaba de acuerdo con ello (o que lo entendía) era Geoff, aunque todos los demás guardaban reservas con respecto a lo que pensaban.

A bit dated, a bit heavy-handed and preachy at times, but actually a good read from the seventies which feels eerily prophetic as we approach the new twenties.Wandering around Lord Summerisles' land and song with Jonny Trunk, Stephen Cracknell of The Memory Band and others.