from a low and quiet sea

Characters:

• Farouk Alahad, talented and successful doctor, Syrian refugee, whose wife and daughter drown during their exile journey.
  He later meets Florence.
• Laurence (Lampy) Shanley, ‘bastard’, as we learn later, from John; raised by his mother, Florence, and grand-father, Pop; abandoned by his lover Chloe, never replaced by Eleanor.
• John, traumatised by the death of his elder brother Edward, who is idolised and morned by the whole family, especially father, and sister Connie; this one bullies her siblings Julie, Henry.
  John marries Olivia, falls in love with Florence (Lampy's mother), and has her boyfriend Javier murdered. Two additional events in his life related to death.

A poem about the Norman invasion, pp 122-123

Armoured they came from the east
From a low and quiet sea
We were a naked rabble, throwing stones;
They laughed, and slaughtered us.

Florence is revealed as the common link between the three main characters, who are presented in isolation, with stories in different timeframes. The end is dramatic and unexpected, with John frozen to death beside his wheel chair, in a truck driven by Lampy.