The Book
A J. Patrick Armstrong's Lyttleton Siren
Christmas 1981, locked in a winter freeze, the peace and good will of Lyttleton are shattered by a fatal hit-and-run.
In the aftermath, as the year of the Falklands War takes its toll, the lives of the driver, bereaved mother and teenage witness unravel to reveal dark family secrets and a community in trauma.
Told in three distinct voices, Lyttleton Siren is a powerful story of guilt, grief, and coming-of-age.
About The Author
J. Patrick Armstrong was born in 1968 and grew up on the Hampshire and Dorset coasts. His jobs have included paperboy, pool attendant, barman, waiter, hairdresser, van driver, factory worker, student, academic, teacher and writer. He has lived and worked in England, Scotland, Taiwan and Korea. Now settled in Dorset with his family, Lyttleton Siren is his first novel.
How The Book Came About
J. Patrick explains: “Growing up in a small community, there were often stories about accidents or families who had experienced tragic events. So, in a way, the novel expresses the fear of being caught up in such an event, and how that might unfold for the perpetrator, bereaved and community.
There were families in our village directly affected by the Falklands War. It was on the television constantly and then, just as quickly, it was over. Perhaps its brevity has led to its relative under-representation in fiction. With the novel’s early eighties setting, the Falklands conflict seemed very apt, both in terms of story in the character of Neil and as a wider frame or backdrop of violence and tragedy beyond the confines of Lyttleton.
While reworking the novel to include Lisa’s and Neil’s stories, I was also writing academic papers and presentations about violence in rural or village settings, looking at a whole range of British and American writers, including Ben Myers, Jim Crace, Jon McGregor, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Robin Jenkins, Alice Walker, Stephen King, Raymond Carver and Cormac McCarthy, all of whose influence found its way into Lyttleton Siren.”
RELEASE DATE: 28/01/2025 ISBN: 9781835741092 Price: £9.99
Tagged in Book releases