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Ten Seconds from the Sun
A breathtakingly visceral psychological thriller from the author of Surface Tension , which Booklist —in a starred review—praised as "intelligent, original, stylish, ambitious, and brilliantly etched."Russell Celyn Jones is the author of five previous novels; he is a regular reviewer for the London Times and a former Booker Prize judge.
- GenresBook Club
307 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2007
34 people want to read
About the author
Russell Celyn Jones
15 books3 followersRussell Celyn Jones is a British writer and academic, born in London and brought up in Swansea. He has written novels, mostly focused on crime and issues of guilt and morality, and also teaches creative writing.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 11, 2013
This was an odd read – some great writing that you sail effortlessly through, interspersed with some yawnworthy stretches – thinking particularly of the long descriptions of river navigation – that drag like a dredger stuck in the mud. Not to mention a tendency towards unexpected jump-shifts from calm to turmoil in the blinking of an eye: the car crash (fine, that’s the way they happen) the drama on the beach (to be honest I’m not sure what that section contributed to the whole).
Despite any misgivings I had about the style, this has to be a five star review as far as I’m concerned, because once you get a couple of chapters in the story demands to be read. There is a tabloidy fascination about the plot, not necessarily a bad thing. I read it with a feeling of foreboding lodged in the pit of my stomach. You know what is going to happen and are powerless to prevent it but you have to see how it plays out. Celestine was a particularly brilliant character – causer of so much aggro and yet surely worthy of sympathy too. So much to think about. Not a novel I’ll forget in a hurry.
Despite any misgivings I had about the style, this has to be a five star review as far as I’m concerned, because once you get a couple of chapters in the story demands to be read. There is a tabloidy fascination about the plot, not necessarily a bad thing. I read it with a feeling of foreboding lodged in the pit of my stomach. You know what is going to happen and are powerless to prevent it but you have to see how it plays out. Celestine was a particularly brilliant character – causer of so much aggro and yet surely worthy of sympathy too. So much to think about. Not a novel I’ll forget in a hurry.
November 21, 2013
This book has a lot to recommend it - lyrical prose, vivid imagery, and an interesting premise. But somehow it doesn't quite deliver, and I'm not sure why.
The protagonist is a family man in his late thirties with a dark secret in his past. So far, so formulaic. Happily married, happily employed, yet still looking over his shoulder, Ray is unsettled early on by some men who seem to recognise him. The narrative meanders between Ray's past and his present, with pieces of his story being revealed as we go on, although the big one is given almost immediately.
The supporting characters are one dimensional, which I think might be what lets this book down. That and the threat to bring his life crumbling down, which never feels like much of a threat, the moment when it ~is~ all brought out in the open which honestly feels like a cop-out, and the ending which doesn't feel like much of anything.
It's not a bad book, by any stretch, but it had the potential to be brilliant and it isn't.
The protagonist is a family man in his late thirties with a dark secret in his past. So far, so formulaic. Happily married, happily employed, yet still looking over his shoulder, Ray is unsettled early on by some men who seem to recognise him. The narrative meanders between Ray's past and his present, with pieces of his story being revealed as we go on, although the big one is given almost immediately.
The supporting characters are one dimensional, which I think might be what lets this book down. That and the threat to bring his life crumbling down, which never feels like much of a threat, the moment when it ~is~ all brought out in the open which honestly feels like a cop-out, and the ending which doesn't feel like much of anything.
It's not a bad book, by any stretch, but it had the potential to be brilliant and it isn't.
December 5, 2022
saw someone describe this as an odd read and honestly they were right. Some parts of this you can flow through effortlessly, and for no reason in a few parts are descriptive it takes a lot of and I mean a lot of effort to even read the 3 paragraphs pertaining the course of the river.
The story is from the pov of Ray Greenland, formerly known as Mark Swain who finds himself in a bit of a dilemma when his past comes knocking. I like the part where at the end during his revelation to the family, it was his mother in law who backed him up, the same lady who could spend hours finding flaws in cooking backed him when he needed it. I also liked how Lily referred to him as Ray in the phone call, i found it particularly endearing.
Speaking of Lily, I didn’t like her much. I found her bland and tasteless and honestly serial killer or not Ray deserves better and the only thing keeping the marriage together is her business.
Another character I liked was Noel, who I think said he was “Uriah” if I wasn’t mistaken at the end, I loved it when the whole crew backed him up against Celestine at the end. And the moment when they were eating lunch and Celestine said she was from Oystermouth.
I feel this book should have rather been named Oystermouth, it feels better suited.
Celestine, might I be perceived as a villain for this, I found her quite interesting?. Supposed I see where she’s coming from I hope she finds her redemption soon, but honestly it might be villainous of me to hope that I hoped she’d be dead or gone at the end, maybe with a note that said “returning to Oystermouth”.
All in all, this book was an odd read. I just wished it wouldn’t have been descriptive at times.
The story is from the pov of Ray Greenland, formerly known as Mark Swain who finds himself in a bit of a dilemma when his past comes knocking. I like the part where at the end during his revelation to the family, it was his mother in law who backed him up, the same lady who could spend hours finding flaws in cooking backed him when he needed it. I also liked how Lily referred to him as Ray in the phone call, i found it particularly endearing.
Speaking of Lily, I didn’t like her much. I found her bland and tasteless and honestly serial killer or not Ray deserves better and the only thing keeping the marriage together is her business.
Another character I liked was Noel, who I think said he was “Uriah” if I wasn’t mistaken at the end, I loved it when the whole crew backed him up against Celestine at the end. And the moment when they were eating lunch and Celestine said she was from Oystermouth.
I feel this book should have rather been named Oystermouth, it feels better suited.
Celestine, might I be perceived as a villain for this, I found her quite interesting?. Supposed I see where she’s coming from I hope she finds her redemption soon, but honestly it might be villainous of me to hope that I hoped she’d be dead or gone at the end, maybe with a note that said “returning to Oystermouth”.
All in all, this book was an odd read. I just wished it wouldn’t have been descriptive at times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2025
I love descriptive fiction, and I really enjoyed the main characters voice, it felt very authentic. There’s was definitely an underbelly of psychological “offness” from the main character but not as much as I thought. I expected a bit more suspense, but all the information was timely revealed. It was not a book full of surprises, it felt more like a long diary of Ray trying to work through his life. Therefore it felt a little plotless, I’m not necessarily mad about that because I enjoy books that are more description based. If you’re looking for a jaw dropping thriller, this is not the book for you. This book reads like an autobiographical character study that leaves you with an ending of many questions. It was a solid read but it didn’t quite hit the nail on the head in terms of an objective plot.
May 14, 2017
Flat style fails to grip.
May 17, 2017
Ok, found it a bit of a slog
July 16, 2020
Some interesting twists and turns.
January 24, 2011
This is a very thoughtful book with a nasty shock in it. All the way through the reader is drawn into sympathising with the hero who we know did something in his childhood for which he was punished. Because he appears so attractive, when we do find out his crime - it's a real shock and the reader doesn't know how to deal with the revelation.
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August 17, 2012I am not sure I liked this, it was difficult to put down, but the storey matter was very dark.
A hero or anti hero of a story is always hard to dislike and Ray / Mark was hard to dislike and this made the story harder to read.
Its an interesting topic and brought back memories of the Jamie Bulger case back in the early 90s
A hero or anti hero of a story is always hard to dislike and Ray / Mark was hard to dislike and this made the story harder to read.
Its an interesting topic and brought back memories of the Jamie Bulger case back in the early 90s
October 7, 2010
My comments are at http://notesfromafrica.wordpress.com/...
December 31, 2011
Fantastic summer read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews