What do you think?
Rate this book
Borrowed Light
“One of the most talented and humane novelists that we have.”—John Connolly Astra Sharp has a part-time job in the café run by her best friend, Connie, and a boyfriend who plays in a band. Life’s not perfect, but it’s not too bad. Then Connie’s little sister Angel shows up and everything starts to go to hell. It isn’t Angel’s fault if everyone falls in love with gorgeous Luke, boring Tim the accountant, Astra’s kid sister Gita. Set in scenic Cornwall, Borrowed Light is Daphne Du Maurier recast in a Quiksilver world. Joolz Denby was born in 1955: at the age of 19, she married an outlaw biker—a member of the Satan’s Slaves. Billie Morgan was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2005.
- GenresFictionCrimeContemporary
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Joolz Denby
13 books76 followersJoolz Denby has been a professional writer of poetry and fiction, spoken-word artist, illustrative artist and photographer for over thirty years.
* Add Joolz as a Friend on Facebook: look for Joolz Denby.
* This year will be Joolz' 25th year as a spoken-word artiste at Glastonbury Festival: with over 100 performances of her writing at the festival, she is one of Glastonbury's most prolific performers.
*Joolz latest spoken word album, Spirit Stories, with music by Justin Sullivan is now available for download/mail order: please visit The Shop @ www.newmodelarmy.org Buyer Reviews: 'Two listens now. Still got gooseflesh. Poetry to touch the soul. And that voice. Hell, Joolz could read the phone book and leave you entranced. The music just provides the backdrop, but Joolz' voice is the main instrument here.' Ifran. '(the track) Boy You Need the Road - WOW.' St Alfonzo. (reviews taken from the Noticeboard at www.newmodelarmy.org). Magazine Reviews: 'Joolz Denby remains one of the real treasures of the British literary scene and "Spirit Stories", her new album, is quite simply an essential listen. . . Mesmerisingly atmospheric throughout. 'Bubblegum Slut Fanzine. Issue 32.
*She is an award-winning, multi-nominated novelist; for her debut novel Stone Baby (HarperCollins) Joolz won the Crime Writer's Association New Crime Writer Of The Year and was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award. She was also awarded the audio book industry's prestigious 'Earphone Award' (USA) for her brilliant unabridged recording of Stone Baby. Her third novel, Billie Morgan (Serpent's Tail) was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize and also the Crime Writer's Association Dagger In The Library award.
*Her last novel Borrowed Light (Serpent's Tail) was released in February 2006 to enormous critical acclaim and her latest collection of poetry and short fiction Pray For Us Sinners (Comma Press), released in late 2005, is already in its second re-print. She has recently finished her new - as yet unpublished - novel, 'Wild Thing' (www.myspace.com/wildthingjoolzdenby) and has started working on another novel (working title) 'Midnight At The Rat N' Roses' and a new collection of poetry and short stories.
*Joolz tours the world giving highly acclaimed dramatic readings of her work (both poetry and prose). She is noted for the emotive, musical quality of her voice and the skill with which she presents the characters she has written about. She won the prestigious US audio book industry Earphone Award for her unabridged recording of her novel 'Stone Baby' and is considered to be the UK's premier woman spoken-word artist ('the Queen Of British Spoken Word'). In Britain she reads throughout the year at venues ranging from The Royal Albert Hall and the House of Commons to rock music festivals (twenty-two years as a performer at Glastonbury) arts centres, Universities, rock clubs and coffee houses. She is highly respected for her work with prison inmates.
* Joolz is an expert in the field of commissioned public poetry, having written poetry for Yorkshire Forward, The Royal Armouries, Alchemy Asian Arts, Yorkshire Museums Service, Bradford Capital Of Culture Bid and The Captain Cook Museum amongst others.
*Joolz is an extremely experienced and valued broadcaster, having worked regularly for radio of all kinds such as BBC Radio Four (including many broadcasts for Woman's Hour) and BBC Radio One. She has also a
* Add Joolz as a Friend on Facebook: look for Joolz Denby.
* This year will be Joolz' 25th year as a spoken-word artiste at Glastonbury Festival: with over 100 performances of her writing at the festival, she is one of Glastonbury's most prolific performers.
*Joolz latest spoken word album, Spirit Stories, with music by Justin Sullivan is now available for download/mail order: please visit The Shop @ www.newmodelarmy.org Buyer Reviews: 'Two listens now. Still got gooseflesh. Poetry to touch the soul. And that voice. Hell, Joolz could read the phone book and leave you entranced. The music just provides the backdrop, but Joolz' voice is the main instrument here.' Ifran. '(the track) Boy You Need the Road - WOW.' St Alfonzo. (reviews taken from the Noticeboard at www.newmodelarmy.org). Magazine Reviews: 'Joolz Denby remains one of the real treasures of the British literary scene and "Spirit Stories", her new album, is quite simply an essential listen. . . Mesmerisingly atmospheric throughout. 'Bubblegum Slut Fanzine. Issue 32.
*She is an award-winning, multi-nominated novelist; for her debut novel Stone Baby (HarperCollins) Joolz won the Crime Writer's Association New Crime Writer Of The Year and was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award. She was also awarded the audio book industry's prestigious 'Earphone Award' (USA) for her brilliant unabridged recording of Stone Baby. Her third novel, Billie Morgan (Serpent's Tail) was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize and also the Crime Writer's Association Dagger In The Library award.
*Her last novel Borrowed Light (Serpent's Tail) was released in February 2006 to enormous critical acclaim and her latest collection of poetry and short fiction Pray For Us Sinners (Comma Press), released in late 2005, is already in its second re-print. She has recently finished her new - as yet unpublished - novel, 'Wild Thing' (www.myspace.com/wildthingjoolzdenby) and has started working on another novel (working title) 'Midnight At The Rat N' Roses' and a new collection of poetry and short stories.
*Joolz tours the world giving highly acclaimed dramatic readings of her work (both poetry and prose). She is noted for the emotive, musical quality of her voice and the skill with which she presents the characters she has written about. She won the prestigious US audio book industry Earphone Award for her unabridged recording of her novel 'Stone Baby' and is considered to be the UK's premier woman spoken-word artist ('the Queen Of British Spoken Word'). In Britain she reads throughout the year at venues ranging from The Royal Albert Hall and the House of Commons to rock music festivals (twenty-two years as a performer at Glastonbury) arts centres, Universities, rock clubs and coffee houses. She is highly respected for her work with prison inmates.
* Joolz is an expert in the field of commissioned public poetry, having written poetry for Yorkshire Forward, The Royal Armouries, Alchemy Asian Arts, Yorkshire Museums Service, Bradford Capital Of Culture Bid and The Captain Cook Museum amongst others.
*Joolz is an extremely experienced and valued broadcaster, having worked regularly for radio of all kinds such as BBC Radio Four (including many broadcasts for Woman's Hour) and BBC Radio One. She has also a
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 6, 2020
I picked this up a few years ago after reading Joolz' Billie Morgan, which I really loved. Like Billie Morgan, this book explores the more painful aspects of life. It has a darkness to it which is similar, and shares many themes about friendship, family and responsibility, but this is a very different book. To me, Billie Morgan is stronger, but that isn't to say this isn't a good book.
Set in a Cornish surfing town which relies heavily on tourism, this is the story of Astra - she has had to drop out of uni as a result of her mother's worsening MS, caring both for her and for her younger sister Gita. In her 20's and feeling a little unanchored, Astra is happy when her friend Connie arrives from Bradford (from where the family originates) to open a beach-side cafe. Astra takes on some waitressing alongside her caring duties, and is treading water with her boyfriend whilst living in denial about her crush on local surfing hero Luke. When Connie's sister Angel turns up for the summer, life is thrown upside down. Angel is beautiful, and people are drawn to and obsessed by her. But she is also something of a void - lacking empathy for those so enthralled by her and without a thought to how her actions are perceived. Like a blank screen, those under her spell project all their love and hopes on to her, with catastrophic results.
This book is a slow burn, with a lot of foreshadowing towards a sharp shock of an ending. But what Joolz does so well is build characters, particularly but not only her narrative main character. We get to know Astra better than anyone around her, and a big part of this is the very chatty, natural tone of voice she has. At times that veered a little too much to feeling a bit contrived for me, but most of the time it felt like she was really speaking just to me. And the other characters around her, in particular Cookie who I fell in love with, are really fleshed out too. It is this connection to them all which makes the conclusion such a shock (because it is not exactly a surprise), and makes the build up worth it.
Set in a Cornish surfing town which relies heavily on tourism, this is the story of Astra - she has had to drop out of uni as a result of her mother's worsening MS, caring both for her and for her younger sister Gita. In her 20's and feeling a little unanchored, Astra is happy when her friend Connie arrives from Bradford (from where the family originates) to open a beach-side cafe. Astra takes on some waitressing alongside her caring duties, and is treading water with her boyfriend whilst living in denial about her crush on local surfing hero Luke. When Connie's sister Angel turns up for the summer, life is thrown upside down. Angel is beautiful, and people are drawn to and obsessed by her. But she is also something of a void - lacking empathy for those so enthralled by her and without a thought to how her actions are perceived. Like a blank screen, those under her spell project all their love and hopes on to her, with catastrophic results.
This book is a slow burn, with a lot of foreshadowing towards a sharp shock of an ending. But what Joolz does so well is build characters, particularly but not only her narrative main character. We get to know Astra better than anyone around her, and a big part of this is the very chatty, natural tone of voice she has. At times that veered a little too much to feeling a bit contrived for me, but most of the time it felt like she was really speaking just to me. And the other characters around her, in particular Cookie who I fell in love with, are really fleshed out too. It is this connection to them all which makes the conclusion such a shock (because it is not exactly a surprise), and makes the build up worth it.
December 4, 2017
Re-read. Still good, if grim. (But not quite as grim as some of her others.)
May 2, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Astra Sharp
SETTING: Cornish seaside town of Polwenna (UK)
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.75
The permanent residents of a town that is a tourist destination often live in a world that is far different from that depicted in the glittery brochures. Several years ago, Astra Sharp's family moved from Bradford to the Cornish seaside town of Polwenna. When her mother's health began to deteriorate as a result of MS, Astra dropped out of college to take care of her. She doesn't view that as a sacrifice. Her hippy parents are endearing and warm people; her little sister, Gita, is almost like her own child. Her other sister, Gwen, is a flaming religious fanatic; but hey, doesn't every family have at least one difficult member? Astra has a nice boyfriend, "Beaker", and is able to have some outside social interaction as the result of working part time at a café owned by her best friend, Con. All in all, life isn't a bed of roses, but it certainly isn't a bed of thorns either.
And then Con's sister, Angel, comes to visit. There is something about her that causes people to become obsessed with her: Con, who can never see her weaknesses and loves her blindly; a boring local accountant named Tim; Luke, a golden surfer boy who visits annually; a star struck Gita, and more. Inordinately beautiful, Angel is really an empty vessel. In an almost preternatural way, she exerts an evil influence over the entire area. The weather changes drastically, and the tourists begin to leave. People behave in ways that are completely atypical, the most extreme case being Tim, whose mental health declines dramatically. Angel herself is soulless but not evil; she doesn't have the ability to empathize with others or to see the effects of her actions.
BORROWED LIGHT is really not a work of crime fiction, although a murder does occur, which the reader anticipates throughout the narration. Even though it is expected, the actual death still horrifies and saddens the reader. Instead, BORROWED LIGHT is an extraordinary character study, where even the minor players are vividly portrayed in a way that causes the reader to react emotionally. They all seemed like real people to me; and as such, they made me cheer or cry or become exasperated as Denby rolled out their stories and how each of them was managing to cope (or not) with life. She doesn't judge any of the characters but rather presents them just as they are, with all their strengths and weaknesses on display.
The other element that makes Denby's books a pure delight for me is her use of language. In addition to pitch perfect dialogue, she writes so lyrically that I sometimes pause in awe at the pure beauty of her words. The setting feels like a place you've been, almost like touching on a memory of a visit. Although the story is grim at times, Denby mixes in just the right amount of humor and compassion to alleviate the darkness.
One of the most powerful books I've ever read is Denby's BILLIE MORGAN. Based on my experience in reading these two books, I can guarantee that I will be buying any of her future works on the day of publication. Joolz Denby has rapidly become a "wow" author for me.
SETTING: Cornish seaside town of Polwenna (UK)
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.75
The permanent residents of a town that is a tourist destination often live in a world that is far different from that depicted in the glittery brochures. Several years ago, Astra Sharp's family moved from Bradford to the Cornish seaside town of Polwenna. When her mother's health began to deteriorate as a result of MS, Astra dropped out of college to take care of her. She doesn't view that as a sacrifice. Her hippy parents are endearing and warm people; her little sister, Gita, is almost like her own child. Her other sister, Gwen, is a flaming religious fanatic; but hey, doesn't every family have at least one difficult member? Astra has a nice boyfriend, "Beaker", and is able to have some outside social interaction as the result of working part time at a café owned by her best friend, Con. All in all, life isn't a bed of roses, but it certainly isn't a bed of thorns either.
And then Con's sister, Angel, comes to visit. There is something about her that causes people to become obsessed with her: Con, who can never see her weaknesses and loves her blindly; a boring local accountant named Tim; Luke, a golden surfer boy who visits annually; a star struck Gita, and more. Inordinately beautiful, Angel is really an empty vessel. In an almost preternatural way, she exerts an evil influence over the entire area. The weather changes drastically, and the tourists begin to leave. People behave in ways that are completely atypical, the most extreme case being Tim, whose mental health declines dramatically. Angel herself is soulless but not evil; she doesn't have the ability to empathize with others or to see the effects of her actions.
BORROWED LIGHT is really not a work of crime fiction, although a murder does occur, which the reader anticipates throughout the narration. Even though it is expected, the actual death still horrifies and saddens the reader. Instead, BORROWED LIGHT is an extraordinary character study, where even the minor players are vividly portrayed in a way that causes the reader to react emotionally. They all seemed like real people to me; and as such, they made me cheer or cry or become exasperated as Denby rolled out their stories and how each of them was managing to cope (or not) with life. She doesn't judge any of the characters but rather presents them just as they are, with all their strengths and weaknesses on display.
The other element that makes Denby's books a pure delight for me is her use of language. In addition to pitch perfect dialogue, she writes so lyrically that I sometimes pause in awe at the pure beauty of her words. The setting feels like a place you've been, almost like touching on a memory of a visit. Although the story is grim at times, Denby mixes in just the right amount of humor and compassion to alleviate the darkness.
One of the most powerful books I've ever read is Denby's BILLIE MORGAN. Based on my experience in reading these two books, I can guarantee that I will be buying any of her future works on the day of publication. Joolz Denby has rapidly become a "wow" author for me.
March 19, 2012
Borrowed Light by Joolz Denby (Serpents Tail)
I probably read this book too quickly after Billie
Morgan as in comparison this book was a bit of a
snoozeathon as for most of the book not much seems
to happen as Joolz follows the lives of some
Bradfordian Exiles who are living in Polwenna and
running a cafe. Most of the book seems to be about
the day today drudgery of running said cafe and
the cast of caracters who drift through being a
healthy mix of locals and tourists and Yah's with
holiday homes.
The action that there is centres about the cafe
owners "sister" and the men who become obssessed
by her beauty and how the nature of the obsessions
play out, the only problem is I telegraphed the
ending of the book about 100 pages before it
happened, it was just a case of when and how not
if.
For me this is Joolz's weakest novel so far, I do
hope the new book that is due out in a month or so
is far better than this one. I'd reccomend you
read one of her earlier books like Corazon or
Stone Baby rather than Borrowed Light. Or even
find one of her poetry books like The Pride Of
Lions or Errors Of Spirit. She will be on tour in
the Uk during February or if you happen to be near
Bradford I'm sure she'd be happy to Tattoo you in
her studio.
I probably read this book too quickly after Billie
Morgan as in comparison this book was a bit of a
snoozeathon as for most of the book not much seems
to happen as Joolz follows the lives of some
Bradfordian Exiles who are living in Polwenna and
running a cafe. Most of the book seems to be about
the day today drudgery of running said cafe and
the cast of caracters who drift through being a
healthy mix of locals and tourists and Yah's with
holiday homes.
The action that there is centres about the cafe
owners "sister" and the men who become obssessed
by her beauty and how the nature of the obsessions
play out, the only problem is I telegraphed the
ending of the book about 100 pages before it
happened, it was just a case of when and how not
if.
For me this is Joolz's weakest novel so far, I do
hope the new book that is due out in a month or so
is far better than this one. I'd reccomend you
read one of her earlier books like Corazon or
Stone Baby rather than Borrowed Light. Or even
find one of her poetry books like The Pride Of
Lions or Errors Of Spirit. She will be on tour in
the Uk during February or if you happen to be near
Bradford I'm sure she'd be happy to Tattoo you in
her studio.
December 15, 2012
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. I'm not sure I would have read it had it not been a 'reading group' choice. I anticipated the ending but this did not make it any less shocking. I look forward to exploring more of the author's work.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews