The Still Point tells the story of Julia, a descendant of the doomed artic explorer Edward Mackley, and of Emily his wife. Edward set off at the turn of the 20th century, shortly after marrying Emily, to find the North Pole. Emily dutifully waited for him to return from his heroic quest. He did not return and his body was not found until the 1950s. In the present day, Julia has taken up the role of archivist of all her famous ancestor's relics. She lives in the Mackley home with her husband Simon. Their relationship is damaged by some recent trauma that is hinted at in the beginning and becomes more obvious as the story progresses. Julia's life has been filled with romantic and thrilling stories about Edward and Emily passed dowm through the family and these stories have coloured her own views of love and affect her relationship with Simon.

Julia's story unfolds over the course of a blisteringly hot summer day as she sifts through some of Edward's things. We are given insights into Edwards journey through extracts from his diary. There is a perfect juxtaposition of the intense heat of the present day and the unimaginable cold of the artic which seems to make Edwards story seem unreal, like the stuff of legend, as it always has been portrayed by his family. Later in the story a revelation throws the Mackley legend into doubt and forces Julia to reconsider her views on enduring love.

The writing is beautiful and clever, without seeming overworked. It is clear from the outset that we are merely spectators.It seems to be bundled up into neat little paragraphs. I like this kind of narrative, where the reader is kept separate from the characters. Edward's story is well written and one reads it with a mixture of mounting dread and pity. The title is interesting too - I like the concept of a still point under which everything turns. Edward set out to find his still point while Emily waited. Its a very romantic idea. I found myself reading this novel in an almost leisurely way; daydreaming and reading at the same time.

This book is travelling in a bookring!
Here are some gentle rules for my bookrings/rays:

1. Please don't feel under pressure to read the book at break-neck speed but do try to finish it within a month (if you need longer than this then add a journal entry to let us know :) )
2. Don't panic if the book dies while you have it, just PM me so I can get a replacement up and running.
3. Please journal when you receive the book, then edit that journal entry or add a new one to let us all know what you thought.
4. Make release notes when you have sent the book on to the next member.

I hope everyone enjoys reading the book. I'm looking forward to reading all of your comments.
Bookring participants (in order of shipping - please check back as this can change!!):

Originalmulli (UK)
raluk68 (Romania) LilyKlip (Germany)
grovalskii (Germany)
Nakipa(Portugal)
Totje2 (Netherlands)
sarabe1 (Sweden)
VictoriaWagtail(Sweden)
lauraloo29 (Canada)
starrdust(Canada)
DubaiReader(India)<--here

On its way to Originalmulli for the first part of our bookring

Arrived! I've got nothing in front of this - have been anxiously waiting for something new! - so I can start right away. Thanks very much for sending.

Looking at the date I journaled this I can't believe I've had it for so long! But I have genuinely been reading it all this time - i agree with NICNIC that you read it slowly - because the story jumps back and forth in time and builds up gradually, I was constantly going back to check on earlier parts of the story as I went along.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS! Perhaps the first book ever that I've given 10 out of 10 without hesitation. I'm thinking of buying a copy for myself because the writing is so beautiful but I'm slightly held back by the harrowing account of Edward lost in the Arctic that I don't really want to read again!

The device of mingling past and present is hardly new, but here this is done more successfully than I have ever seen. It is truly seamless, as if it really is all happening simultaneously, as the atmosphere of the house seems to suggest. I love how the house itself is a character - it has so much influence on all the other characters, although in different ways - a prison to Emily and a source of fantasy and longing to Julia.

I also really loved the style of narration - I don't really know how to describe it! We are kept at a distance from the characters, being led through the day by the narrator but we are not omniscient: we can only see what is actually in front of us (or what Julia is reading in Edward's diary). The narrator doesn't add anything we can't be shown..."but let's not break the bounds of the day..."

An absolutely fascinating read, by a very young author! Thanks so much for sharing this NICNIC! I have PMed the next reader so will get it on its way ASAP.

I have been further delayed by the post office in our nearest town being closed for refurbishment - it's very difficult for me to get to another one. But this will be off to Romania in the morning!

Got it today! Thank you! :)

For me, this book was a strange mix between a story that could be fascinating, a story that is boring and the annoyance that I was not fascinated by any of these tow :))))
Surprise-Surprise: the "good" part is when we discover the lie!...
I enjoyed some parts, I despised other parts, but I manage to take it to finish! :D

Thank you NICNIC2 for the opportunity!
I do value each and every reading experience ;)

The book is on its way to Germany.
Enjoy! :)

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is beautifully written, especially the parts set in the Arctic Sea are very visual and you can almost feel the cold and grasp the vastness of the ice.

I did feel though that it sometimes dragged on for a bit too long and Amy Sackville would be a much better short story writer. As I said, the language is beautiful but sometimes I thought it's trying to be too clever for its own good and simpler words might have suited it better.

However, a very good read and taking into consideration that this is her debut - Wow!

Thank you for sharing the book.

Moving on!

just received the book in the mail. I have one more book to read ahead of this one, shouldn't take me too long.

Hm, strange book. Overall, a good read. But at times I got confused with the jumps between the different times and characters. I liked the writing style as if we (the readers) where observing the whole story with our own eyes.

I've got Nakipa's address and will mail the book out to her tomorrow morning.

The book is on its way to Portugal!

I received this one today. I have a couple of rings to read ahead of this one but I'll get to it in no time. :D

Traveling to Totje2. I didn't get the chance to read it but I hope you enjoy it :D

This book arrived safely in my mailbox today.
Thank you for sending it to me, Nakipa. I'm looking forward to read it, but I have a few to read first. I'll keep you informed on my progression and waht I think of it.

Started reading this book today. I'm curious what I'll find!

From the blurp it looked like a very promising or interesting book, but I was mistaken. More or less from the start I found this book boring / not interesting. And that did not get better when I made progress in the book.

And when it didn't get any better untill page 100 (very descritpive story telling, not so much about the history of the ancestors as well as futilities about the present day life of Julia and her husband), I decided to put it aside and not read any further. Since I did not finish, I will not be rating the book.

It'll go on its journey again as soon as I get sarabe1's address.
ETA that after I get her address, the book wil continue its journey to VictoriaWagtail.

On its way to the next + one in the ring: VictoriaWagtail.
I hope it arrives soon and safe. Happy reading!

Thanks Totje1 for sending this book to me, it arrived today. I look forward to reading it.

I've tried really hard to get into this book but I just can't get my head around it and after having read about half of it now I've decided not to go on with it.

I get the feeling this is a book that tries too hard to be something it is not. The language lingers somwhere close to poetry, but I've always struggeled with understanding poetry since I think it most often says nothing in an atempt at saying everything and that is the case also with this book. But sometimes a book can be very readable inspite of such shortcomings but I also found the story to be quite... boring actually. After 150 pages I still wasn't sure of what the book was actually about.

I liked several of the elements of the plot, the charachters, the old house, the family history, but to me they weren't put together in a very good way.

But still, thanks everyone for sharing this book and for making it travel!

PMing Lauraloo who is next in line now.

The book is now on its way to the next reader in line, Lauraloo29. Enjoy! :)

I support The Swedish Cancer Society with a Pink Ribbon

This arrived yesterday. I have a couple of rings here at the moment. Not to worry I will keep them moving. :)

This book is a slow read. I wish I had more time and less bookrings. I'm going to send it on to the next person.

Thank you for sharing.

This book arrived at my Post Office this week, so I'll look forward to reading it over the next few weeks.

Just a note to let you know that I still have this book and am still reading it...slowly but surely :-)

Finally finished this book today and I realize that I have had it much longer than I would normally hold on to a Book Ring book. Went on holiday to the UK for 3 weeks in March however this book has also taken me a long time to read - - I really wanted to get through the entire book so just kept at it and I'm glad that I took the time to read it. The writing style is unique and at times the story line dragged so I would get 'bogged down' but overall a very well-written tale. I enjoy poetry as well so perhaps I was able to adapt to the phrases and enjoy the lilting dialogue more than some other readers. Thanks for including me in this Ring! I've sent a pm to the next person on the list - DubaiReader - to get her mailing address.

Mailed this book off to DubaiReader on Thurs. June 7th

...and the book is now in Dubai.
I shall travel to UK with it to read on holiday and hopefully post it on from there.
Back to it's original home? Or does it have another destination???
Thanks to NICNIC2 and Starrdust :)