Metronome by Tom Watson caught my interest because it is about an unusual imprisonment situation. From the description is sounded spooky, adrenaline-rushing, and totally captivating – it did not disappoint!
Metronome in a nutshell
Aina and Whitney are in prison, for 12 years. Their prison does not have any locks or barred windows, but a house on an island and a lot of ocean… ah, and one more thing: every 8 hours they have to take a pill.
I will not tell you why they are in prison (together!), but I can tell you they seem good people according to our generic standards of today. I can also tell you that their life on the island is not as boring as it might sound.
And one more thing – the island might be a peninsula after all. Gets quite interesting, doesn’t it?
My overall impression
Metronome is a super captivating and rich story! The narrative flow is easy to follow and the plot twists are intriguing. The book is an interesting blend of character-building and adrenaline-rushing action – great to keep all types of readers engaged 🙂
I enjoyed a lot the idea of unusual prison, it was like a combination of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood (my review).
Yan tan tethera methera pip
If you know what this means … hats off! If not, prepare to be blown away!
These words appeared multiple times throughout the story, but only after finishing the book I searched for the meaning.
Yan tan tethera is a sheep-counting system used by shepherds traditionally in Northern England and other parts of Britain 🐑. The words are numbers from some Celtic languages. It seems it was also used in counting stitches in knitting.
In the story, “yan tan tethera methera pip” was said during some challenging situations, so I assumed it’s a kind of mantra for relaxing … but I was not expecting a Celtic counting system! Super nice touch!
Wrap-up
To conclude, I recommend reading Metronome if you’re into adrenaline-rushing stories and/or if you are interested in prison-like environments. For me it was an enjoyable read that I will surely recommend to my friends!
If you would like to buy books or other (non)bookish things, please consider using one of these links: Amazon | Waterstones | Carturesti. Thank you!
‘Till next time … happy reading!
Georgiana
PS: I received a digital copy of this book at my request, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. My review expresses my own thoughts about the story and it is not influenced in any way by the publisher or the author. The book is published on March 31st, 2022.
Readers' High Tea 
That’s an interesting fact at the end. it sounds weird and complex counting system.
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I agree, it seems super complex for a counting system! 🙂 It was interesting that the character was using it as a kind of mantra, to calm herself.
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