We have had to wait seven years for Graham Swift’s latest novel. Was it worth it? The hero of The Light of Day might think so. George Webb shares the patience of Job. He is prepared to wait eight or nine years until the woman he loves is let out of prison and re-emerges into the light of day. It is hard to understand the nature of his obsession. Firstly, he has only met Sarah a couple of times before she is jailed for murdering her husband. Secondly, his fixation seems to revolve around her knees. Am I alone in thinking knees are the most unerogenous part of the body? But it is a testimony to Swift’s skills as a novelist that he makes Webb’s fixation seem plausible. Love represents solace for the past as much as hope for the future.
George Webb has lost his wife and his job.
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