Loved the elements of this...from the setting (which in essence became a central character), to the tragic events linking across time. Not a “feel good” story, but an immensely compelling read.

Murmuration comes from the sounds a flock of starlings make while flying/dancing above the Victorian pier of a coastal town in the UK. They are ever present in each of the stories this book has to offer us, entwining them and creating a liaison between all.

All the stories were good, even though my favorite was definitely the one about Michael Braithwaite. There were times where I was genuinely surprised with the plot, which for me is refreshing.

In general it was a very beautiful book, about human relations and with a hint of otherworldly views.

Recommend to everyone who likes good melancholic stories, about the cards life deals us.

I really enjoyed the supernatural elements to this book and felt a solid connection to several of the characters- Mickey and his mad run to save his mother and Georgie's decrepit fall from grace in particular. The ending was quite abrupt and though I understand the circular nature of the story Lock is telling, I felt it was all tied up in too neat of a package, with perhaps not enough of the supernatural to prod the tale along with confidence.

That said, this really brings the resort to life through the ages. As someone living in the United Kingdom, the world Lock has built here is believable and solid in my mind, from the structural integrity at the height of the resort years to the waning significance of a town ill equipped to deal with a bust.

This is a nice one to sit for a while with on a train, or a plane- it made me think, and the descriptions and characters are well thought through and engineered, with some delicious use of pathetic fallacy and gorgeous imagery throughout.

A music hall performer in the mid 19th century, a boy-lookout in the 2nd World War, a fortune teller in the 1960s, a town archivist in the 1980s and a pier comedian in the now - all their lives played out on the pier of an English seaside town.
The seedy, sleazy underbelly of entertainment relying on slippery innuendo is as much a thread running through the story as the (almost) immovable permanence of the pier structure itself.
I nearly did not read this book due to the lengthy decription of starlings’ flight at the very beginning, but I’m glad I did. The prose is eloquent, the stories of the different protagonists seemingly unconnected, but like the flight of starlings, the different strands come together only to swoop apart again. A captivating and magical story about the shifting patterns of fate.

Unfortunately I have mixed feelings about this book. I read it as part of a blog tour initially but found it very difficult to get into as I felt it was quite a slow start.

I liked that the story was written from the point of view of a crow very interesting and it was great to get a literal birds eye view of the events taking place. It definitely helped to pull the story together and helped me make more sense of everything going on.

The historical details were fascinating, especially as they were about periods of time that I knew little about and I always enjoy learning new things. It was very interesting to see how events affected everyone and how they had an influence on other time periods.

Despite this I just found the story a bit too slow and had to force myself to read as much as I did. I think this might be more to do with being very sleep deprived then with anything else.

Huge thanks to the Publishers for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

"'Murmuration is a magically woven tale of human connectivity, frailty, and the hold the past can have over the present. My promise of just one more page was constantly broken' Laura Parish, Novel Kicks.

The starlings dance in mesmerising patterns. In and out they fold. Up and down. Below them a Victorian pier has stood the test of time, carrying each generation over a cold and relentless sea.

As the birds dance they watch the lives of those who pass beneath. Two scandalous comedians born a century apart; a seemingly ageless deckchair attendant; the fortune-teller who believes no one can see the future. And in this seaside town one man knows the only way to stop history repeating itself is to solve a mystery as old as the pier."

I've always wondered what life would be life viewed from the collective unconscious of a bird...