The Wager and the Bear - John Ironmonger

Q: What's the best way of trying to get a politician to actually listen to you? 

A: Get yourself stranded with one on an iceberg. 

Apologies if that smacks of spoiler. There's a vague allusion to it on the book back blurb so perhaps it's not too much of one. If ever there was a pertinent, relevant and topical book it's this one. And I have often thought that one of the most enduring ways to get ideas across is under the guise of fiction. As I sit here with the wind howling around me, a remnant of Storm Eowyn, and I recall the floods, the fires, the storms, the temperatures I scratch my head at those who think climTe change is all a conspiracy. Regardless of the human insistence on ruining this planet climate change and global warming will occur naturally simply because we are part of a solar system and our star, the sun, will get hotter. We have probably 'just' accelerated it.

The starting point of The Wager and the Bear concerns an exchange between idealistic youth, Tom Horsmith, and mean maturity, Monty Causley (he is a politician and climate change denier) in a Cornish pub that has consequences that follow them both throughout their lives. I'm not prepared to divulge what the wager is nor detail any of the consequences, I'm already worried I've offered one spoiler! Suffice to say it all makes for an enthralling and thought provoking story. 

Although the book does have points to make there's no preaching or dogma. Rather there is a story of humanity with all its ups and downs, heartbreaks and tragedies, the impetuousness of youth and the nefarious machinations of politicians, and there's love and loyalty, friendship and family. 

What really sticks out, though, is what a consummate storyteller John Ironmonger is. The narrative flows seamlessly whether the location is Cornwall or the Arctic, one sequence of events seems to glide effortlessly into the next like some of the glaciers in the tale. The text is expansive without being over elaborate. Whilst an affinity for the pertinent detail in a story can sometimes make or break it - too much and you risk boring your reader, too little and you run the risk of frustrating your reader. Pick up the balance right as Mr. Ironmonger has done and the result is just a beautiful literary experience.

It's a clever story, contemporary yet timeless. Whilst it deals with a subject that might be seen as hopeless, nevertheless, the story leads us to believe that there is hope for the future so ultimately the book is an uplifting one. 

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon at Fly on the Wall Press for a gifted copy.