Darkness Falls from the Air (Cassell Military Paperbacks) - Softcover

Balchin, Nigel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1474601189 ISBN 13: 9781474601184

Publisher: W&N, 2015

The classic novel of the London Blitz, DARKNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR captures the chaos, absurdity and ultimately the tragedy of life during the bombardment.

Bill Sarratt is a civil servant working on the war effort. Thwarted at every turn by bureaucracy and the vested interests of big business, the seemingly unflappable Bill is also on the verge of losing his wife Marcia to a literary poseur named Stephen. As the bombs continue to fall, Bill must decide whether he his willing to compromise his principles and prevent his life from crumbling before his very eyes.

Review:

One of the hopes of British novel-writing . . . A writer of genius (John Betjeman)

The missing writer of the Forties . . . Balchin's professional skill gives a meaning to brilliance which the word doesn't usually possess (Clive James NEW REVIEW)

[An] inexplicably neglected author (THE TIMES)

Balchin writes about timeless things, the places in the heart (Ruth Rendell SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

Balchin has been absurdly overlooked for too long (Julian Fellowes)

I'd place him up there with Graham Greene (Philippa Gregory)

Darkness Falls from the Air [has] the most perfect ending of any story I've ever read (Patrick McGrath)

A remarkable storyteller (DAILY MAIL)

A brilliant novelist . . . A writer of real skill (NEW STATESMAN)

He tells a story gloriously (DAILY TELEGRAPH)

Book Description:

A true modern classic, DARKNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR is a seminal novel of the Second World War.

• Publisher: W&N
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1474601189
• ISBN 13: 9781474601184
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224