Totally engrossing

This is another lovely, absorbing read in the Strong Winds series. Once again, the tempo of sailing in various vessels informs the narrative. Above and through the machinations – innocent or otherwise – of the various individuals and groups involved run the timeless winds, currents and flows of the elements. And yet that’s a misleading over-simplification, because, as well as enjoying the reassuring honesty of the children in the story and their delight in the vessels they use, we’re exposed to less comforting themes: Liam’s growing problems with his sight; the baffling realities of international intrigue; the uncovering of family secrets; the different perspectives brought by the need to care for those at the other end of the age spectrum. We share the infectious joys of the younger protagonists and are troubled by their (not insignificant) sorrows, and, at times, the relative ‘simplicity’ of the sailing is a soothing counterpoint to complex patterns of family connections and past intrigues.

The children live in the moment and bring to their experiences an apparent simplicity, but one laced with mystery. Liam, for example, holds a shell to his ear to ‘check that the sound of the sea [is] safe inside’ and checks again later to make sure it’s ‘still there’. But they’re not just dreamers, they’re practical, reliable young people, not content with ‘learning about the world from a textbook’.

There’s the same refusal on the part of the narrator to resort to straightforward ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’. Airbrushing out the unpleasant truths about Russian infiltrators and poisonous packages would have been understandable, but it’s resisted, so we experience the highs and lows of all these adventures without judgemental accompaniments. Like that of the real world, this is a complex tapestry; it’s the fact that it’s usually seen from the perspective of the children’s ‘simple’ ethics that defuses much of the nastiness of what’s really happening. But, despite the plot’s potential for disaster at various points, the overall theme, as always, is one of hope and a trust in the basic goodness of people, and friends.