Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

#blurb

In rural Somerset in the middle of a blizzard, the unthinkable happens: a school is under siege. Children and teachers barricade themselves into classrooms, the library, the theatre. The headmaster lies wounded in the library, unable to help his trapped students and staff. Outside, a police psychiatrist must identify the gunmen, while parents gather desperate for news. In three intense hours, all must find the courage to stand up to evil and save the people they love.

#review

Love. Compassion. Hatred.

One day in life of a school in Somerset. When a normal run of the mill day turns into your worst nightmare. It highlights the best of human nature. It highlights the worst of human nature.

We have a wide range of characters, including refugees, students of varying backgrounds, a psychologist, terrorists. With each character reacting to the situation in their own way, we see how some flourish for the greater good, a few freeze in sheer terror whilst they try to make sense and how others can revel in the terror they are imposing on others. This made the book well rounded in its telling, without having too many threads of narrative. I felt like I was following various pieces of string as they start to meet and tangle, leaving with one knot at the end. Evident that this day is now something that all these characters will always have in common.

Love is a huge theme in this book. Love that an older brother has for their younger sibling. Love that is unconditional which a parent has for their child. Love that one human being can have for another where they will risk their own safety to protect the safety of another. Even, the love which a terrorist has for their cause, which inevitably leads to strong hatred towards others, as we see here. Every character has a ‘love’ connection within the novel and the story itself, for me, is an exploration of this.

Highly emotional. Thoroughly compelling. My read of the year… so far!

Five stars!

Out now in hardback and e-book.

Published in paperback on the 29 October 2020.

Special thanks to Rosamund Lupton, Ellie Hudson and Viking Books UK.