Review: Bone Lines by Stephanie Bretherton

Bone Lines by Stephanie Bretherton

Publication Date: September 6, 2018

Unbound Digital

A young woman walks alone through a barren landscape in a time before history, a time of cataclysmic natural change. She is cold, hungry and with child but not without hope or resources. A skilful hunter, she draws on her intuitive understanding of how to stay alive… and knows that she must survive.

In present-day London, geneticist Dr Eloise Kluft wrestles with an ancient conundrum as she unravels the secrets of a momentous archaeological find. She is working at the forefront of contemporary science but is caught in the lonely time-lock of her own emotional past.

Bone Lines is the story of two women, separated by millennia yet bound by the web of life. A tale of love and survival – of courage and the quest for wisdom – it explores the nature of our species and asks what lies at the heart of being human.

Although partly set during a crucial era of human history 74,000 years ago, Bones Lines is very much a book for our times. Dealing with themes from genetics, climate change and migration to the yearning for meaning and the clash between faith and reason, it also paints an intimate portrait of who we are as a species. The book tackles some of the big questions but requires no special knowledge of any of the subjects to enjoy.

Alternating between ancient and modern timelines, the story unfolds through the experiences of two unique characters: One is a shaman, the sole surviving adult of her tribe who is braving a hazardous journey of migration, the other a dedicated scientist living a comfortable if troubled existence in London, who is on her own mission of discovery.

The two are connected not only by a set of archaic remains but by a sense of destiny – and their desire to shape it. Both are pioneers, women of passion, grit and determination, although their day to day lives could not be more different. One lives moment by moment, drawing on every scrap of courage and ingenuity to keep herself and her infant daughter alive, while the other is absorbed by work, imagination and regret. Each is isolated and facing her own mortal dangers and heart-rending decisions, but each is inspired by the power of the life force and driven by love.

Bone Lines stands alone as a novel but also marks the beginning of the intended ‘Children of Sarah’ series.

My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

When I received the tour invite from Anne Cater for this one I was immediately drawn in by the description. I'm a sucker for dual timeline stories and was fascinated by the premise of a present-day scientist studying a woman that lived tens of thousands of years ago and how their lives intersect. You get the best of both worlds - the past and the present! This also pulled on my love for archaeology and anthropology. It is evident that the author also has a passion for it and her knowledge shown through in the book. I don't think I've ever highlighted so many passages in a book before. I was completely intrigued!

As with most dual timeline novels that I read I preferred Sarah's story. Could you imagine trudging through freezing cold and snow, delivering a baby on your own, and then keeping that baby and yourself alive in the most dangerous environment possible, while you forage and hunt for food and attempt to not freeze to death!? When it was Sarah's time in the story, I was gripped! So much so that I devoured the last hundred pages to see what happened to Sarah and her baby.

This is Bretherton's first novel and you bet I will be following her now to see what else she writes. I really enjoyed her writing and she definitely knows her research.

Philosophy, human nature, history, and science combine in Bone Lines to make for one captivating and thought provoking read!

About the Author

Who do you think you are? A daunting question for the debut author… but also one to inspire a genre-fluid novel based on the writer’s fascination for what makes humanity tick. Born in Hong Kong to expats from Liverpool (and something of a nomad ever since) Stephanie is now based in London, but manages her sanity by escaping to any kind of coast.

Before returning to her first love of creative writing, Stephanie spent much of her youth pursuing alternative forms of storytelling, from stage to screen and media to marketing.
For the past fifteen years Stephanie has run her own communications and copywriting company specialised in design, architecture and building. In the meantime an enduring love affair with words and the world of fiction has led her down many a wormhole on the written page, even if the day job confined such adventures to the weekends.

Drawn to what connects rather than separates, Stephanie is intrigued by the spaces between absolutes and opposites, between science and spirituality, nature and culture. This lifelong curiosity has been channelled most recently into her debut novel, Bone Lines. When not bothering Siri with note-taking for her next books and short stories, Stephanie can be found pottering about with poetry, or working out what worries/amuses her most in an opinion piece or an unwise social media post. Although, if she had more sense or opportunity she would be beachcombing, sailing, meditating or making a well-disguised cameo in the screen version of one of her stories. (Wishful thinking sometimes has its rewards?)

Website: http://www.stephaniebretherton.com/
Twitter : @BrethertonWords
Instagram: @brethertonwords2