The Village in a Nutshell
A review of "The Bubble" by Sylvie Short
If Paradise existed on earth, would we enjoy it or destroy it? This is a
question raised by this unusual book. Sylvie Short is a former teacher who grew
up in Swaffham Prior and went to school with Ruth Stinton and Ruth's
sister, Mary Cook. She is at present writing a history of Swaffham Prior which
will be published next year.
Meanwhile her new book, The Bubble, is apparently not about the two Swaffhams and Reach though the fictional Upper, Middle and Lower West Side may often ring a chord. At one level it is just "an everyday story of country folk" ; at another level it is an allegory.
Set in the near future (2020) life for the villagers is the familiar high-pressured scramble to acquire and achieve. Only one or two of the older residents cast wistful glances back to a time when people seemed kinder to each other. All this changes on a cold January day with the descent of The Bubble. Clearer than glass, harder than diamonds and impenetrable, it cuts off the villagers from the world they know and belong to. Panic ensues: will the air run out; will the water, gas and electricity be cut off? This is followed by confusion. Why does nobody from the outside world - family members, work colleagues - miss them and try to get in touch? Eventually outrage and panic give way to a calm resourcefulness. A new and fulfilling way of life is created under the guiding hand of a stranger. But who is he? And will their paradise be shattered by the corrupt and evil Gordon Golightly?