Blog tour. Nameless Lake

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Welcome to the blog tour for Nameless Lake by Chris Parker!

More about the book…

Nameless Lake illuminates a life in kaleidoscopic fragments, ranging from the 1970s to the present day, through Britain, France and Germany, encompassing parenthood, art and architecture. It is a novel about the unspoken pressures of gender and desire, told through the shifting dynamics of a lifelong friendship.

Emma and Madryn grow up with dreams of escaping their seaside hometown, sustained by an obsession with photography and secret acts of vandalism. But adulthood brings its own limitations, and Emma yearns for connection beyond the constraints of her family.

Drawn deeper into Madryn’s private life, Emma feels new possibilities awakening within herself, but when Madryn faces a backlash from her controlling partner, Emma must finally break out of her role as passive observer.

More about the author…

Chris Parker is a screenwriter for television who has written for shows ranging from EastEnders and Coronation Street to Bedlam, a Sky TV drama series he co-created for Red Production Company. He is also a prolific animation writer, working for Aardman Animations, DreamWorks and many others, with hundreds of credits including Peppa Pig, Clangers, Postman Pat and Shaun the Sheep.

He was born in South Wales and lives with his family in Cambridge

My impressions…

This book is unlike anything I’ve read of late and so, utterly beautiful! It makes me think of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending it with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold. There is nothing broken about this novel but the friendship between Emma and Madryn is narrated in what appear to be fragments of life, beautifully bound together by the author’s powerful use of language – the gold, in this metaphor. But don’t take my word of it, experience this beauty yourself!

Three words to describe it. Intense. Insightful. Enthralling.

Do I like the cover? It is beyond beautiful.

Have I read any other books by the same author? This is a debut novel and I look forward to more!

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