Blow on a Dead Man's Embers

Non and Davey Davies are struggling to live their lives in the aftermath of the Great War. Davey is so changed by his experiences that Non hardly recognises the man she married a year before the War. As she attempts to discover what is haunting Davey, Non finds out much about herself and her past, too: discoveries that allow her to live more comfortably in the present. But it seems that Davey’s dark secrets are more dangerous, he becomes ever more agitated as they work their way closer to the surface of his consciousness. And when he does remember, both he and Non know that these are secrets that can never be told, they are secrets that will shatter the fragile and hard won happiness of their community if they ever become known.

Blow on a Dead Man's Embers paints a picture of the way ordinary people dealt with the aftermath of a terrible war that left families without sons, husbands, brothers; an aftermath during which the better world for which their menfolk gave their lives failed to materialise. It portrays people’s optimism and sense of humour at even the darkest times in their lives.

Blow on a Dead Man's Embers is published in the UK by Canongate Books. It is available to buy from any good bookshop or can be bought online from Amazon and Waterstones. An unabridged CD, published by W F Howes and narrated by Jenni Lea-Jones, is available online from WholeStory audio books.


Reviews of Blow on a Dead Man's Embers

‘Strachan's finest gift…is a talent for telling stories with grace and compassion…The book has momentum from first to last.’
The Scotsman 31 July 2011

'A beautifully written and poetic journey of self-discovery, Blow on a Dead Man’s Embers navigates harrowing themes of post-WWI without trivialising their importance and provides a wonderful heroine in Non Davies, whose husband returned from the war a changed man.'
Amazon Editor’s Picks, August 2011

‘With discernment and tenderness, Mari Strachan traces the Davies family’s slow journey to recovery over the course of a long, hot summer.’ ‘…the narrative builds tension well and satisfyingly reveals its quiet surprises.’
Literary Review, August 2011

‘The lingering sorrow of war…is given a distinctive and potent treatment in Mari Strachan’s second novel’
The Times Literary Supplement, 12 August 2011

‘…in the depiction of a nation seeking solace in radical politics and spiritualist seances, Strachan manages to bring something original to an old, old tale.’
Financial Times 20 August 2011

What the blogs say about Blow on a Dead Man's Embers

‘I was immediately drawn into the world of the Davies and didn’t feel I had to make the effort to get to know the characters, they were there in full colour from the start.’
Curiosity Killed the Bookworm , July 2011

‘Blow on a Dead Man’s Embers is a fine, fine piece of storytelling. It held me from start to finish, and even now that I have put the book down I am still captivated …’
Fleur Fisher in her World , August 2011



Research sources for Blow on a Dead Man's Embers