This is a non-fiction book that could have worked as fiction. It describes (in Truman Capote style) the establishment of the “Premonitions Bureau” by a prominent newspaper to receive, document and follow up on British people’s premonitions in the 1960’s.
The book is very detailed in describing how things started, and it was fascinating to hear about the hits – when premonitions came true. Of course the reader is also aware that 97% of the premonitions that were checked didn’t come true. Despite this, it was interesting to read about the key people behind this, and their ultimate fates.
The story told her is full of detail which made it really come to life. Sometimes I felt like the level of detail wasn’t exactly necessary, and the thread and progress of the descriptions was occasionally unclear. I also wondered if the goal of the book was met or not – while interesting in itself, I’m not sure I changed my thinking along the way.
It would be interesting to do something of the sort in the modern age – with so much fake and unqualified information out there it would likely be impossible – but at least the modern correspondence speed would make checking that much easier.
Next book is Upgrade by Blake Crouch. I think this will be the last book I read before our trip to America…
