Always the Sun

By Neil Cross

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Always the Sun is a brilliant novel about parenthood

What do you do when your son is bullied? How far will you go to protect him from those who seek to cause him harm?

Jamie is thirteen years old, an only child. His mother has recently died. He and his father Sam have moved to Sam's home town. A fresh start. An aunt to lend support. A new job for Sam, a new school for Jamie. But one day Jamie comes home, bearing the scars of every parent's nightmare.

Something must be done... So it begins.

Praise for Always the Sun:

‘Brilliantly and sympathetically written, it will strike cold fear into the heart of every parent' Daily Mail
 
'The stripped-down prose of Neil Cross is at once masterly, authoritative and tender throughout this superb and difficult novel. Outstanding' Big Issue
 
'Set to be his most successful yet... harrowing but gripping' Time Out
 
'A gripping journey to the limits of paternal emotions' Mail on Sunday
 
'Cross's grimly readable novel settles into a parent's nightmares and ties apprehensive knots in the reader's stomach' Guardian
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Nov 17, 2008
• ISBN: 9781847396563

Neil Cross

Neil Cross is the creator and sole writer of the critically acclaimed BBC America crime series Luther, and the film Luther: The Fallen Sun, available on Netflix. In 2011, Cross was awarded the Edgar Award for Best Teleplay for episode one of Luther. He is the author of the thriller Burial and lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand. Visit him online at Neil-Cross.com.

Reviews for Always the Sun

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered." Michael J.FoxAs the book opens Sam’s wife Justine has just cruelly died from a degenerative brain disorder and he decides to move back to his home-town with his thirteen year old son, Jamie. Assisted by Sam’s sister, Mel, Sam and Jamie move into their new home, Sam gets a job as a psychiatric nurse at the local mental hospital, and Jamie begins school at Churchill Comprehensive. Initially the move goes well but when Sam realises that Jamie is the object of bullying things begin to go downhill. Faced with an indifferent school administration Sam takes matters into his own hands.Always the Sun is not what you would call an uplifting or inspiring read by any means. What's more I certainly wouldn't recommend this to some one who who was already struggling with depression or had themselves suffered at the hand of bullies. My copy of this book had the tagline on the front cover of "All he wanted to do is keep his son safe" but as I have seen on other copies the question should be “How far would you go to protect your child?” This isn't because of the actual bullying which despite being undoubtedly cruel is subtle rather than vicious but rather the emotions that it instils in the reader and certainly the book left me with an uncomfortable after-taste when I finished it. As a parent I thought that Always the Sun was certainly depressing, unsettling and disturbing, but it is also an impressive piece of writing. Author Neil Cross might take things to extremes but at the centre of this story asks his readers to question what we would do if we were in Sam’s shoes and that in my books can be no bad thing."Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right." Theodore Roosevelt

[candyschultz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book reminds me of those films about a family on vacation out west with a car full of nasties hounding them. You know it is not going to end well. In Always the Sun the tension builds so slowly and subtly I didn't realize it until my stomach ached and my shoulders were sore from tension. It is structured for maximum tension and horror and it delivers fully. This is the story of a father, newly widowed, whose son comes home from his new school with evidence of bullying. Even the bullying is subtle, relating to his recently dead mother. As he retreats farther and farther from his family his father tries more serious attempts to stop the bullying. As a study of a man reeling from one loss and unable to quite feel again Cross has done an excellent job. The lengths he will go to to save the remains of his family may astound and horrify you. They might not even be believable but ask yourself how far you would go to save your child. The ending is horrifying and shocking in several ways. A very good read.