The Bone Clocks discussion

David Mitchell is new to me and this type of book is as well. There were chapters that I found extraordinary and others that were difficult to follow.

but one concrete question on Hugo Lamb...so he's at Holly's apartment and he receives a call from his dad that an investigator has called....possibly about the stamps...we later find out that he drowned (well, not really) in a scuba diving accident four years later. But what happened before then? Did I miss that somehow? Did he return home and not get caught?

Hi Hope!

We're left to assume that, after Hugo was successfully recruited by the Anchorites, during the intervening years before his brief reappearance for the apocalyptic battle between the Horologists and Anchorites, he was training as an Anchorite, developing his powers and skills, and searching out suitable sources of life replenishment for the Blind Cathar and his disciples. Presumably, he had access to extra-dimensional realms or supernatural powers of concealment or instantaneous teleportation that allowed him to avoid capture. The details of what he did to acquire the skills are deemed much less important to the story than what he does later.

If you want to read a little more about Hugo Lamb, you can find him in Mitchell's earlier and reportedly semi-autobiographical novel Black Swan Green. And if you still haven't read any other Mitchell books, I heartily, enthusiastically recommend, nay, command that you read my three favorites, Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas, and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet.

Happy reading!

I think you're supposed to think that with all the Anchorites resources Hugo was able to clear his name and then have a convenient 'accident' at a later (4 yrs?) time to clear of any connections. I'm new to this author too, a step into a new world for exciting reads!