Morecambe Bay, Lancashire: After his father’s death, a son clears out his parents’ house. When he finds a series of haunting photographs of Morecambe Bay, taken by his father towards the end of his life, it sparks a journey through the scattered memories and broken connections of five generations of family history.
Flowing from the vibrant post-war Jewish community of London's east end, to the quiet suburban streets of Stanmore, and back to the Lancashire coast, the story cascades down through each generation’s shifting perspective. A wife appeases her charismatic yet destructive husband; a son reimagines the jigsaw of his mother’s life; a granddaughter tries to heal the traumas of the past.
What Fools We Have Been is an exploration of memory, identity, and the trail of damage left in the wake of wartime trauma. It asks: What is it that makes us who we are? Is it possible to repair the wreckage of the past?
What did I think?
What Fools We Have Been is a lovely change of pace from my usual type of book but it is just as compelling. I loved reading this interesting story from the various points of view that is told via a dual timeline. It's quite short at 139 pages so it's a quick read, not just because of the page length but also because it is incredibly captivating.
I felt quite nosey looking back over the family history in the book with all of the skeletons bursting out of the closet. It is so sad when disagreements fracture families and it's really difficult for those caught in the middle of it. People can be so stubborn and unfortunately, it does need effort from both sides to repair the damage.
I have to share a quote from the book as Hank Williams has perhaps written my favourite phrase ever regarding memories. When one of the characters is eating something that reminds him of a different time, he says that it tastes good to him because it is "seasoned with memories." That is such a beautiful phrase and one I will never forget as it is so true.
Beautifully written, nostalgic and enthralling, What Fools We Have Been is a gentle, easy read and a very thought-provoking one.
I received a gifted hardback for the Love Books Tours bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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About the author:
Hank Williams was born in 1955 in London to Jewish parents. After university, he moved to the north west of England. For most of his career, he has worked as a management development consultant and has published three books on the subject. Since 2002, he has lived on the edge of Morecambe Bay.
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