The Red Beach Hut by Lynn Michell
Critics’ Reviews
We live in polarised, paranoid times, suspicious about anything that departs from the norm. We are lucky to have writers like Lynn Michell to remind us that even here, even now, it is possible for the lonely and excluded to connect. It is rare to find such beauty and language as crisp and refreshing as the seaside it so powerfully evokes.
— Maureen Freely, President of English PEN, novelist, translator and activist.
From the first pages of this novel, Michell sets up an atmosphere of such convincing threat that the reader’s expectations are on red alert.
— Jenny Garrod. DURA. Dundee University Review of the Arts.
Lynn Michell writes a beautifully innocent and endearing tale twisted by the tainted gaze of society’s perverse darkness….She presents the reader with the delicate and fragile moments in which one reveals oneself to another and hopes that that this vulnerability will be met with compassion.
— Isabelle Coy-Dibley for The Contemporary Small Press.
A faded seaside town in Autumn is the perfect setting for this elegiac story of a vulnerable boy and the adult who befriends him…The sense of jeopardy is palpable. As the narrative flicks backwards and forwards, we’re also reminded that in any part of Britain, ignorance and bigotry are never far away…I was left with the sensation of the fragility not just of seaside communities but of the knife-edge on which society is perched. A highly engaging and thought-provoking read.
— Ali Bacon, author of Between the Lines
The prose is achingly beautiful…I doubt there can be a better, more poetic or lyrical writer when it comes to sea and shore and to the timelessness of being out on the water in a boat…The boy Neville is exquisitely drawn, a wounded soul who counts stars and steps and grains of sand for security.
— Avril Joy, Costa and People’s Prize winning author
A parable for our times…an intriguing book about secrets, assumptions, and consequences. I found it beautifully descriptive and the boy is beautifully realised.
— Derek Thompson, Author of Stand Point, Line of Sight, Cause & Effect, Shadow State.
A compelling book that examines bigotry, ignorance, redemption and friendship. Beautifully told too.
— Heidi James, author of Wounding.
A beautifully written exploration of the relationship between a tormented man and a damaged boy. The author moves seamlessly between them. Getting inside a child’s mind isn’t easy, but Michell gives us Neville’s point of view in a way that is guileless and utterly credible. The ending could so easily have been unsatisfactory, but it was perfect – understated and exactly right. I wish there were more novels like this.
— Kathleen James, writer and poet.
Some of the best writing I’ve seen in a long time. The characterisation of Abbott and Neville is quite superb: the unease of the man and the perfectly credible affection he feels in response to the boy’s humanity. The boy’s moments of excitement, fear of happiness being snatched away and awareness of adult moods are all quite superbly drawn… Lynn Michell conjures up the somehow appealing desolation of a faded British seaside town. The opening paragraph is a tour de force. You want to jump right in.
— Howard Sergeant, writer and ghost writer.
The innocence and trust of the relationship between Abbott and Neville is beautifully conceived.
— Susie Nott-Bower. Author of The Making of Her.
The magnificent part of The Red Beach Hut … is its touching on the ugliness and beauty of human nature – to be alone, an outsider and still seek out human connection…
— SipnSee
Delicately beautiful and gorgeously descriptive
— SarahLouise writes
The writing in The Red Beach Hut is enthralling.
— The Bibliophile Chronicles
A convincing and compelling read. Neville’s thoughts and speech effortlessly reflect that of a young child. An incredibly consistent character.
— Lauren Parsons, Legend Press
Beautifully written. The small English seaside town comes to life in front of your very eyes, and pretends to fall asleep while it keeps one eye open, watching the goings-on.
— Bookmarked
A brave and brilliant decision to have a child as one of the central protaganists…Neville is so beautifully drawn.
— Ninja Book Box
A rain-streaked, deserted British beach becomes a place of pilgrimage, of mystical retreat; an old beach hut offers warm sanctuary, revelation, truth-telling, consolation and love. It is fable for our time: a cautionary tale, shot through with light and loveliness.
— Kate: Amazon reader
Quietly and without dogma explores the consequences of the widespread intolerance in our society towards anyone who isn’t vanilla flavoured.
— Amazon reader: Bookworm
Beautifully constructed, the narrative flows.
— Amazon reader: Dr. Heinrich Uhlig
A compelling book that examines bigotry, ignorance, redemption and friendship. Beautifully told too.
— Amazon reader: Nomenclatur
What I admire most about The Red Beach Hut is its authenticity. Simply put, the characters feel like real people. It also shines a spotlight on often unrepresented characters within the literary world. Not often will you find characters like Abbott and Neville without some sort of sinister twist. Instead, here, readers find something pure and inspiring.
– The Panoramic Dynamic