My flight from Gatwick to Venice was on time – amazing really given the amount of snow outside and the massive disruption at Heathrow. But the allegedly “fast” bag drop was a total misnomer, the queues for Security were interminable, and the breakfast service at the airside Garfunkles was very slow. So I only had literally five minutes to choose and buy a book from WH Smith before my flight was called.
I picked the first book I saw which looked interesting, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenagger. I chose that because I had enjoyed her previous book, The Time Traveller’s Wife. But if I had had just another five minutes to read the blurb on the back properly before having to dash for the plane, I’d have put it back on the shelf. It turned out to be a modern ghost story – all about death, love, bereavement, grief and haunting. It was a gripping story, with a number of twists in the tail which I didn’t see coming, but really totally inappropriate for the situation I’m in at the moment. I’d have been better off with my usual airport-novel standby, an Agatha Christie omnibus.
