The Pools – Bethan Roberts

Description

The Pools by Bethan Roberts is a haunting and quietly devastating literary novel set in middle England during the mid-1980s. In a town where nothing ever seems to happen, the community is shaken when fifteen-year-old Robert is found dead down by the pools. This tragic event sends shockwaves through the lives of those closest to him, exposing long-held secrets, buried tensions, and quiet desperation in a place where appearances often mask deeper troubles.

The novel follows several interconnected characters whose lives unravel in the aftermath of the boy’s death. There’s Kathryn and Howard, Robert’s grieving parents, each carrying their own regrets and hopes. Joanna, a restless teenager desperate to escape her fractured home life, had once pinned her hopes on Robert, unaware of the complexities beneath his surface. And Shane, awkward and obsessive, nurses his own fixation on Joanna. Through these intertwined stories, Bethan Roberts’ beautifully controlled debut explores themes of grief, longing, betrayal, and the thin line between ordinary life and quiet tragedy.

A strikingly atmospheric novel for readers who enjoy character-driven stories with an undercurrent of unease, The Pools is a compelling exploration of small-town life and the dark secrets that can simmer beneath its surface.