Metronome: The 'unputdownable' BBC Two Between the Covers Book Club Pick

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Dystopian, suspenseful and atmospheric, the premise of this novel is that a married couple are coming to the end of their 12 year incarceration on a remote (fictional) island. In their dwelling is a machine which, every 8 hours, dispenses a pill to keep them safe from the toxic atmosphere on the island, rendering them unable to explore the wider terrain. Although they've made preparations to leave because their sentence is over, their messages to the warden are going unheard. Aina begins to wonder whether Whitney knows more about their circumstances than he is letting on. Her teeth chetter and she can hardly draw breath. The morning seems colder somehow, and her hair is pasted to her scalp. It is as though there is less of her."

Aina and Whitney are sentenced to 12 years banishment, for a crime that increasingly becomes apparent - they had an illegal child. This is a dystopian near future, and if you don’t have a Permission To Conceive pass (issued after conception), then you’re not allowed to have a child. This gives an insight into the desperation of the parents, then the discovery and removal to remote Long Sky Croft. In addition, environmental factors mean they must be issued with a tablet to counteract potential adverse medical effects, so that is dispensed, upon thumb scan of the recipient, three times a day. In effect, their sentence is at the same time physical, punitive, and psychological. I read Metronome through its inclusion in the 2022 Year of Reading blind subscription from the English language bookstore Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France. In the same article, Tom adds: “I couldn’t be more delighted to work with Emma and the team at Bloomsbury to publish Metronome. They’ve shown such enthusiasm and support, and I feel humbled to see Metronomeat the same house as legends such as Madeline Miller, Ben Myers (shortlisted for the 2014 BSSP), and so many other heroes.” The situation becomes a crisis when no one appears after the 12 years to rescue them. At the same time, a lone sheep appears and settles in to graze on their lands. Whitney is insistent that it is all a test to prove their repentance. Aina is meanwhile suspicious that they are not on an island at all (i.e. Can sheep swim? See above) and that the outside society has collapsed and no one is coming. Both of them yearn for their son from whom they were separated, and both are keeping secrets from each other. Aina begins to form a plan of escape (due to a small timing defect in the dispensing machine) but events become even more dramatic when signs of further human life appear.Second, it’s also a dystopian vision of the world that seems somehow really plausible. I’ve read a lot of near-future dystopias in the last few years. A lot feed on our anxieties about climate change in some way. This does so too, but less obviously, and it doesn’t over explain how we got to this place. We’re just there.

Tom Watson’s debut Metronome is a surreal survival story with a bit of a dystopian edge. Set on an island (or is it?) it is for the most part a claustrophobic and disturbing two hander that requires readers to buy into a real sense of wrongness before then upping the stakes. Stylish and thoughtful ... The setup is delicious ... A talented writer. The eerie claustrophobia of the setting will stay with the reader for a long while. The relationship between his characters is memorably, and often wittily, drawn * Literary Review * More exciting news for another of our 2016 shortlistees: Tom Watson’s debut novel, Metronome, will be published by Bloomsbury in spring 2022. At first, the author uses his elegant prose to create the island setting and the characters. Unfortunately, the writing never really develops its full potential. SPOILERS AHEAD] I think my issue comes from the blurb of the book. It suggested a story of survival and hardship, a situation which require out-of-the-box thinking and the island setting itself promised a mystery to unravel. I don't think I would have been as interested if the blurb had hinted at the central idea of population control through fertility regulation because this is a story that has been told many times.All books for Between The Covers have been carefully chosen to include something for everyone and are guaranteed to spark entertaining conversation.

A very unique novel this. Sparse and raw , remote and bleak but there is something that pulls you to it and draws you in. Are the answers essential to the story? Probably not, but when you start pondering such questions mid-book it is obvious that the 'magic' of the story has not drawn you in and you are no longer able to 'suspend disbelief'. Atmospheric ... Watson's use of language is nuanced and sensitive, with landscape writing especially a sensory highlight * Guardian * This author is so talented, the way that the relationship between Aina and Whitney chop and change throughout the novel is done so very well. The claustrophobic feel of two people spending all of their time together, with no other human company is chilling, and the little niggles of doubt and blame between them, that grow with an intensity throughout is impeccably handled. You are going to want to google Can Sheep Actually Swim? very soon after starting this book, so I've saved you some time.A book about guilt, new beginnings, making mistakes or decisions, because of being forced by circumstances. The betrayal by someone the mc thought she could trust, and her struggle with sensing this from the beginning, and the not knowing if she should trust. It was interesting to find out that their crime was to go against the governments rules over having a baby. We are told that they went against strict laws and Aina fell pregnant. It’s all very The Handmaid’s tale although we never find out what the rules are exactly and why they are in place. Government control would be the obvious conclusion. She is haunted by the loss of a child, the fear of losing another child, the endlessness and despair of not knowing what happened to her son.... I found it difficult to completely buy into the premise and situation of Metronome. So it became more a case of accepting its scenario where the characters play out their parts for dramatic effect. Between The Covers (7 x 30’) was commissioned by Emma Cahusac, BBC Arts Commissioning Editor. Created and produced by Cactus TV, Exec Produced by Amanda Ross with Series Producer Pollyanne Conway.

Where are they? We are told that Aina and Whitney have been exiled to an island for having a child without their country’s legal permission.And the exile to an island, in the middle of God knows where, surrounded by only ocean..... Trying to stay afloat trying to survive, whilst everything you thought to be true seems to be a lie. Taking pills, relying on hear-say, or to take a chance and rely on your guttfeeling...? The book is short and very pacy, with a lot in it to hold my interest and I finished it in two sessions on a particularly long train journey. I enjoyed the story and was really intrigued with it although I would have liked a little more world building to tell me about the world outside the island. The plot is very character-focussed, told from the perspective of Aina, and we are rooting for her throughout the story, with occasional chapters dedicated to (vaguely) explaining what happened before to cause them to have been exiled. I would have liked a little more explanation as to why these rules had come into existence and also how the punishment system was supposed to work, as well as a little more information about the pills. When a later event regarding the mainland is introduced, this is also skimmed over and I would have liked a little more speculation from the characters as to what had happened as well. As days pass, Aina begins to suspect that their prison is part of a peninsula, and that Whitney has been keeping secrets. And if he's been keeping secrets, maybe she should too. Convinced they've been abandoned, she starts investigating ways she might escape. As she comes to grips with the decisions that haunt her past, she realises her biggest choice is yet to come. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book, perhaps because it didn’t serve up everything to me on a plate. When a sheep turns up, they start to question if they are actually on an Island. But the eight hour intervals between their life-saving pills doesn’t give them enough time to explore the island in its totality. There are more clues - but I won’t spoil it.