An Exceptional Book - Literature at its very best:
Seldom does a book excite me as much as Entanglement did. It is Katy Mahood's debut novel and what a stunner. It is modern literature at its very best.
The book has everything: structure; flowing, intelligent prose; superb characterisation; themes to make you think and a great storyline.
The Entanglement of the title is the essence of the book: Mahood regularly keeps the reader focussed by regularly quoting the physics of the theory of particle entanglement whilst her story elucidates the title in relation to human relationships.
Throughout the book chance encounters between seemingly unrelated individuals and couples follow that same rule of physics till the inevitable unification symbolised by Effie and Hope.
Mahood demonstrates her own singular writing style and as a debut novel the quality is breathtaking.
Entanglement begins in London in August 1977 and concludes in the London of 2007: a generation later. So many changes were to happen to the book's main characters in that period. Some good and some bad. We follow the lives of Stella, John, Beth and Charlie and share their ups and downs. And, as we enter the latter part of the period, those of their offspring. Mahood reminds us of the changes that occurred. The London of 1977 was an IRA bombing target. By 2007 London was a very different place from what it had been a mere thirty years earlier. A City more at ease with itself. The political landscape had changed. As had technology which was set to exponentially change our world. Lurking ahead was the growth of a technological behemoth which was to change forever the way we communicate and interact with one another. But the technology we take for granted today and continues to change the way we interact with one another was just slowly starting to impact on society back in 2007 (a mere ten years ago).
In 1977 both John and Charlie had the world at their feet and yet thirty years on tragically neither had reached where they would have expected. Both were incredibly intelligent people set to fail but for different reasons. John through illness and Charlie through alcoholism. Despite career failings both managed to create two magical legacies: their daughters: Hope and Effie.
Mahood explores the different ways we cope with that which life throws at us. Mahood does this by creating a comparative parallel as we watch the relationships of Stella and John and Beth and Charlie, flourish and wither respectively. They both suffer their own problems but deal with them differently. I can't do justice to Entanglement in a few paragraphs but read the book for yourself and enjoy.
Once read Entanglement is one of those rare books which you will not forget.

A meditative, original look at relationships past and present, this evocative novel quietly drew me in with its descriptions and clever trope of love as an example of quantum mechanics in action.

A saga of a sort featuring 2 couples, Stella + John and Beth + Charlie, their ups and downs and how gradually their lives entwine. Pleasant, easy to read but more of a descriptive than action story as it meanders through a 30 year timescale, just lightly touching various events. Not an obvious page turner but it works. A different from the norm book and well worth a look!

Sorry, I didn't enjoy this in the least. Every page has a mention of sex, drink, drugs or swearing, warranted or not. The characters don't do anything that I can see except obsess about themselves, weddings and a funeral directors' strike. One character is pregnant at the start, which is some excuse for her, but there are many references to studying in Edinburgh in the past - then not seemingly doing much with the skills.

Name checks of London streets and Tube stations are so frequent as to make us giddy while chapters average a couple of pages long, skipping among characters. In other words no absorbtion in a setting or scene, even during the bomb blast. The main couple live in Kilburn and we follow them at disjointed intervals through the years from 1977 to 2006. This kind of book is being written by people who are on twitter and social media feeds non stop, causing short attention spans and lack of beauty. The author also tries to write affectedly, with occasional present tense third person and then past tense third person, but still falls into the trap of It was... It had been... There were. She also dangles prepositions frequently. I am sure she put a lot of work into her book but I suggest she should dump the social media if she wants to write long form.

Other readers may of course enjoy this modern adult fiction more than I did.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

This is a STUNNING debut novel which brilliantly weaves connections, relationships and fate into two linked narratives. So clever and a joy to read. Recommend!

Was not sure what to expect with the physics references to particles and entanglement but what followed was a pleasant enough story about two couples leading seemingly parallel lives whose paths eventually cross. It's not the most riveting thing I've ever read but as I said, pleasant enough.

Initially I found this book very confusing and at one point thought I was reading an altered state/time travelling book with characters ping ponging between future and past (I thought Stella was Charlie’s mother at one point). I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and felt they were a little flat. I also became annoyed with the inconsistencies either geographical (West End Lane does not link to Kilburn High Road) and historical (TVs when switched off didn’t fade into a dot in the period described).
However I’ve given the book 3 stars as it was an interesting theme which was well described and I liked the use of seminal moments in London in the time frame being used as part of the story to anchor it.

I know nothing about quantum entanglement, but it's a clever device to base a novel on; the idea that once things touch, they are linked forever.
Basically a story of 2 couples, of love, loss and motherhood. I wasn't sure if I liked it to begin with, but found myself reading for ever longer periods. Recommended.

Stella and John, and Beth and Charlie are two couples who the story follows from the 1970s to the present day - they don't know each other but their paths keep crossing throughout their lives. A beautifully written story of the trials and tribulations of life with all it's ups and downs. Highly recommended.

Entanglement was an unexpected joy of a novel for me. When I first started it I was a little apprehensive as it took me a while to get used to the characters and how their lives were interwoven with one another.

Stella and John. Charlie and Beth. London, 1977. Two new couples starting their journeys together in life whose life’s are changed forever by two totally separate events.

The first is the bombing of a London pub by the IRA. The second an unexpected but not necessarily unwanted pregnancy. Both couples are very young and ultimately unprepared to deal with the very adult decisions that they must now face.

The tales of these two couples are effortlessly interwoven by this author, and as their paths cross through the following years that become irretrievably entangled in one another’s lifes. Though they don’t discover this until much later in the novel.

It’s hard to say too much more without giving anything away. So I will leave it there, I will however say that;

Entanglement is a beautifully written novel spanning some thirty years. It is an impressive debut, and I look forward to this authors next novel.

A beautifully told story. I love the idea of lives being entangled. How different peoples lives can come together at certain points. It is the perfect title for this book and the story is really well told. I would definitely recommend this book.

I understand the concept here of showing how lives meet over the years without your awareness and how they ultimately come together, and it is clever how the author has equated this to John's work in Quantum physics, but really, the stories didn't have that much impact. Although I did form impressions of some of the characters. Charlie and Beth always had an unequal relationship, she seemed patronising and couldn't shake the attitude that she was better, whether intentional or not. Stella and John are probably typical of many couples, and it was heartening to see how they got through the curve balls life threw at them. I did wonder how the worlds would ultimately collide and it was a satisfying conclusion.

Very easy and pleasant to read, but not entirely memorable.

Entanglement is a ‘Sliding doors’esque romance spanning two generations. At first I thought this would be a bit predictable but there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.

What made this surprisingly enjoyable was the use of one of the character’s theories on physics to develop the theme of entanglement in various relationships.

This is the story of two couples, and their families, Stella and John and Beth and Charlie, whose lives collide at various points without them knowing. The theory of quantum particles is a clever thread which holds the stories together. The characters are engaging and the whole thing is very cleverly plotted. The final couple of chapters bring the threads together in a very satisfying way. This is beautifully written and I could not fault it.

When Charlie and Stella locks eyes under the arches in Paddington Station they feel a bolt of recognition..... but have they met before? Backtrack 30 years and we follow the lives of Charlie and Beth and John and Stella as their paths cross without meeting in London..... will they finally collide or are they destined to keep crossing

I really enjoyed this book, different from the books I normally read and so made a refreshing change, and will certainly read future books that this author writes

Entanglement is a beautiful debut novel, written with a real lightness of touch that effortlessly brings out the connections and overlaps in the lives of four individuals from the 1970s onwards. Quantum theory may appear off-putting but it contributes by way of a theme rather than a requirement to understand the science in detail. At times moving, at times shocking, the narrative covers major events in the lives of the characters as well as reflecting the challenges of parenthood, illness and maintaining love through the years. I loved this and raced through.

Really enjoyed this story. It is beautifully written with believable characters and a style of pointing out important details of life/living that many authors miss. Its the story of two couples and how their lives develop and overlap....how we cross paths with folk without realising. The author cleverly uses a theory from Quantum Physics to show the entanglement of lives. its amusing; its sad; but above all its an excellent debut book.

Loved the idea of this book as I quite like the thought of things that happen being down to fate or science, however I just could not get into this book. Such a shame

Entanglement is the story of Stella and John, and Charlie, and how their lives cross, although they never meet.
The ‘almost’ encounters were the best bits, which I suppose justifies the references to Quantum Physics throughout. But I found the comparison between story and Physics difficult to deal with, as were the constant references to London areas, like an A-Z, which does little to help scene setting for many of us.
Struggling to relate to any character, I found in particular, the eventual direction of Stella and John hard to imagine.
Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK