Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

This is a good, satisfying read. Thomas Hargreaves, philanthropist and pillar of the community dies and his grandson David writes an article about Thomas' life. There is a lot to write about - Thomas volunteered in the Spanish Civil War; he was a tireless and successful Trades Union Steward and perhaps most famously, the founder of The Foundation, a charitable organisation which helped the poor and needy and grew to be a large philanthropic organisation. Thomas was much respected and loved but why was his wife so cold towards him? What happened to Jack Mullins, Thomas's bosom pal in Spain who saved Thomas' life? David finds a trunk full of Thomas' journals and information previously known to only 4 people, comes to light.

The book is well paced and engrossing and the characters are well drawn and believable. There is perhaps just a little too much detail of the Great Rally of the British Battalion in Spain but that is only a small quibble,

The book details with moral responsibility, heroism, and raises the question of whether the end can ever justify the means.

A very good and absorbing read with a satisfying conclusion.

Alex Sharratt The Centre Cannot Hold

I am very interested in the Spanish Civil war and was delighted to be offered an ARC by Netgalley for this interesting novel. It’s a good story and well written and the characters are interesting. I enjoyed it very much but couldn't quite give it 5 stars.

The story starts with David, a journalist on the Guardian /Observer (then linked) who has come to Manchester to give the funeral oration for his grandad Thomas Hargreaves who has just died at 95 after a career as a leftwing activist and local benefactor.
David is also writing a newspaper article about him.
But as he goes through documents Thomas has left for him he begins to realise that there is a dark secret in Thomas’s life that could call his whole reputation into question.
Over the course of about a week David has to prepare the eulogy, the article and lecture for a commemoration event, while he digs into the past..

Thomas was an active trade unionist and regularly attended left-wing meetings and had a relationship with a feisty young woman, Nellie, who later became his wife

Then in 1937 he joins the International Brigade to fight against Fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Drawing on his diaries David learns that Thomas was a courageous soldier who befriended another Mancunian volunteer in Spain, Jack - who in fact saved Thomas’s life. They were separated when Thomas was sent to hospital to recover from wounds and later sent home.
While in the hospital he meets Carmen, a young nurse who gives him some extra rations and tells him the hospital director is stealing supplies. She’d rather have had a bit extra. Between them they work out a way to divert supplies from the black market to soldiers at the front. A bit dodgy but not the betrayal we’re being warned to expect.

Thomas returns to the UK. and marries Nellie. He reconnects with Jack who also marries. The four of them become close friends. Jack joins Thomas at the MetroVickers engineering works when WW2 breaks out. .

The description of life in wartime Manchester is extremely vivid - as is the account of the Battle of Jarama earlier in the book.
But David finds out that by the end of the war, it all went wrong for the two couples, due to a betrayal by Thomas that seems to have gone unnoticed by the rest of the community until his death.

The book ends as David has had to decide what to do about the revelations he has uncovered about his hitherto beloved grandad.


It’s a good read and I’d encourage anyone who has got this far in my review to find out what Thomas’s guilt past actually was. But much as I would have liked to, I can’t give it a 5* rating for myself.
I think the fundamental problem lies in how it is structured. Flipping back and forth between timelines is not really the issue, but, for me, it’s about how it is done

The most important part of the plot is what happens in Thomas’s life, but the focus of the narrative is very much on David and his discoveries in diaries and letters

The present scenes are narrated by David and we see clearly into his mind and understand his interactions with his lawyer girlfriend, and the other members of Thomas’s and Jack's families who he talks to. But we never really get into the mind of Thomas, the key protagonist. David reads unopened letters from Nellie to Jack’s wife Mary
But there is nothing in the voice of Thomas (or Jack). We do not see most of the diaries he wrote. We have a third person account based on their contents.
There is very little psychological insight into Thomas’s actions, even though we have page after page of David’s agonising about what to do.

I was personally disappointed by a few other things. The author has obviously done deep research on the Spanish Civil War. The title is from W.B Yeats’s poem The Second Coming which conjures for many the rise of 1930s Fascism, so we might expect that period will be the heart of the story, but it isn’t really. I felt a lot more could have been made of the material.

A further gap is that we don’t really get to know how Thomas actually managed to turn from being a shop steward to a wealthy public benefactor. We are invited to suppose that his dark secret led him down a path which enabled him to do this but it’s not really explained.

I am very glad to have read this book and can recommend it as a fine read but I couldn’t quite give it top marks .



https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RZ0P58IVFONM1/ref=pe_111708471_1111884441_SRTC_02_04_BT_99_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping and informative account of one working class man’s experiences of pre-2nd world war and wartime life in Salford.

This is the account of Thomas Hargraves, told through the journals he left for his journalist grandson to discover.

Thomas was an English local working class hero who volunteered to fight against fascism at Jarama in Spain, risking his life for his beliefs.

On his return to his factory life in Salford, he made a name by sticking up for his co-workers working in difficult conditions.

As the approach to the 2nd world war came about, his attempts to look out for others in his community made him seem an infallible hero and pillar of the community, yet as his ever more bewildered grandson discovers on reading Thomas’ journals, there was a darker side to the man.

The grandson David faces a moral dilemma over whether to hide his discoveries, or keep extolling the wonderful achievements of his much loved and respected grandfather.

A well-told account of family and working class life in wartime, juxtaposed against the modern values of a rising journalist. Wonderful characters and a gripping story. I’m not sure the title is an apt and encouraging invitation to pick the book up but don’t be put off. Highly recommended.

I thought that this was an interesting story written in an easy-to-read style. I felt some empathy for the central characters: the journalist, David; Thomas, his grandfather; Thomas’ best friend, Jack; and the wives, Nellie and Mary.
I think the book overall would have benefitted from a thorough edit to remove some of the repetitions e.g., how many times do we have to be told that Thomas and Jacklimp and so will not be conscripted to fight in WW11.  Editing might also have made the dialog snappier and to the point. At times it felt stilted and long-winded and a little trite. There was also some obvious dumping of historical detail to bring the reader up to speed on the political factions in the Spanish Civil War as well as the build-up that led to World War 11.
The most jarring part of the book, to me, was when David sat down and first opened what we were told were the personal, revealing, confessional journals of Thomas and it was written in the third person. That felt very wrong. However, as the book progressed and David read more of the journal entries, I forgave the author for not making them first person accounts and just went with the story they told.
I enjoyed the final pages of the book when the author elaborates on the impact Thomas’ selfish decision had down through the generations.
The dilemma David had when writing and then presenting the true story of his grandfather was just as shocking as Thomas’ decision to grass on his friend, Jack. Especially so today, now that truth in journalism – and truth-telling full stop –sits on shaky ground. Writing the truth should have been a no-brainer for the journalist, David. But that would have spoiled the story. And all’s well that ends well, at least in the case of David’s final decision.
‘The Center Cannot Hold’ weaves a credible story peopled with relatable characters whose lives roll out through troubled times. It presents the kind of moral dilemmas that will give readers food for thought and the opportunity to take sides. Give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alex Sharratt for the ARC!

I was immediately intrigued by this title due to its coverage of the Spanish War, especially from the perspective of a British man. The premise is strong and does execute on its mission. There is something insightful to be said about the ways we idolize public figures and how to hold the complexities of being a "hero." The war scenes were gripping, if not sometimes a little too long and overindulgent in how heroic it is to serve in the military. When really Thomas and Jack are ultimately traumatized as a result.

Ultimately, I enjoyed it. However, I think the female characters were underdeveloped, especially Emma. There was tension in Emma and David's relationship that was never explored - something that could have mirrored Nellie and Thomas's relationship. David is forlorn over his discoveries, but does not seem to face any consequences over his cowardly response. It seems that he might learn from this experience in the end, but we do not get to see it. I know part of it is the point - to show David becoming a better man than Thomas - but it is not resolved properly.

Overall, I appreciated the read and to support a local author. A few more edits could have solved the main issues - but is structurally solid.