What do you think?
Rate this book
The Centre Cannot Hold: On truth and cost
"Beautifully controlled and observant" ~ Caroline Wood, agent, Felicity Bryan
Some men are remembered as heroes. Thomas Hargraves earned it — a young man who went to fight fascism in Spain, who pulled his neighbours from the rubble of the Manchester Blitz, and who spent the rest of his long life building a charity that lifted thousands out of hardship. When he dies, his journalist grandson David comes north to bury him and to write the tribute the great man deserves.
But in the locked study of the old house in Salford, among the journals and letters no-one was ever meant to read, David finds another Thomas, and a secret kept for almost seventy years. A truth that would honour the forgotten and right an old, terrible wrong. A truth that would also destroy everything his grandfather built, and everyone still living in its shadow.
With his article already at the printers and the whole city preparing to mourn a saint, David must decide what a life is worth, and who has the right to tell it. Moving from the olive groves of Jarama to the firestorms of wartime Manchester to a grey Salford seventy years on, The Centre Cannot Hold is a haunting, beautifully controlled novel about loyalty and inheritance, and the quiet devastation of the stories we choose to tell — and the ones we choose to bury.
Some men are remembered as heroes. Thomas Hargraves earned it — a young man who went to fight fascism in Spain, who pulled his neighbours from the rubble of the Manchester Blitz, and who spent the rest of his long life building a charity that lifted thousands out of hardship. When he dies, his journalist grandson David comes north to bury him and to write the tribute the great man deserves.
But in the locked study of the old house in Salford, among the journals and letters no-one was ever meant to read, David finds another Thomas, and a secret kept for almost seventy years. A truth that would honour the forgotten and right an old, terrible wrong. A truth that would also destroy everything his grandfather built, and everyone still living in its shadow.
With his article already at the printers and the whole city preparing to mourn a saint, David must decide what a life is worth, and who has the right to tell it. Moving from the olive groves of Jarama to the firestorms of wartime Manchester to a grey Salford seventy years on, The Centre Cannot Hold is a haunting, beautifully controlled novel about loyalty and inheritance, and the quiet devastation of the stories we choose to tell — and the ones we choose to bury.
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 13, 2026
There's a famous quote from a John Wayne movie: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." No greater quote can describe the core of a fascinating new book, "The Centre Cannot Hold" by Alex Sharritt.
The book is the story of Thomas Hargraves, a great man, a humanitarian, the husband, father, and grandfather to a generation of people who believed he was great, starting with his wartime activity in the Spanish Civil War, stretching into World War II and the beginnings of a foundation that helped millions upon millions of people throughout Britain.
His grandson, David, a writer is tasked with writing about his beloved grandfather. He gets access to journals writen by his grandfather that tells the story of his life in unflinching detail.
Without giving away the core of the book, it's absolutely necessary to read his glorious story before you discover something about him that changes the entire trajectory of the story. It is neither lurid nor gruesome but has an impact that shapes the entire course of the perception of Thomas Hargraves, and on the generations of people following his death.
This is one of those books that I read, expecting that it would be yet another unsympathetic tear-down of a great man. Instead I found a man was great with exceptions, inextricably tied to someone writing about him with a moral question about which story to tell, the truth or the legend. I think you will find yourself as fascinated by the story itself, the brilliant writing, the absolute faithfulness to a "great man" genre that is both unique, needs to be told, and the issues that surround it
The book is the story of Thomas Hargraves, a great man, a humanitarian, the husband, father, and grandfather to a generation of people who believed he was great, starting with his wartime activity in the Spanish Civil War, stretching into World War II and the beginnings of a foundation that helped millions upon millions of people throughout Britain.
His grandson, David, a writer is tasked with writing about his beloved grandfather. He gets access to journals writen by his grandfather that tells the story of his life in unflinching detail.
Without giving away the core of the book, it's absolutely necessary to read his glorious story before you discover something about him that changes the entire trajectory of the story. It is neither lurid nor gruesome but has an impact that shapes the entire course of the perception of Thomas Hargraves, and on the generations of people following his death.
This is one of those books that I read, expecting that it would be yet another unsympathetic tear-down of a great man. Instead I found a man was great with exceptions, inextricably tied to someone writing about him with a moral question about which story to tell, the truth or the legend. I think you will find yourself as fascinated by the story itself, the brilliant writing, the absolute faithfulness to a "great man" genre that is both unique, needs to be told, and the issues that surround it
July 23, 2026
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.
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.
July 24, 2026
A story that is different from what I would normally pick up, but Im glad I did . Interesting characters, and a timeline stretching from the Spanish Civil War up to the beginning of this century. It kept me engaged from start to finish
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews