I am discovering that I really enjoy English novels. In college my two favorite novelists were Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. Both authors impart a strong sense of place in their books. Dickens’ novels return the reader to the dreadful era of the English Industrial Age and contain numerous unforgettable characters. Thomas Hardy’s style is very different from Dickens’; however, he also conveys a profound sense of place (the heath of his imaginary Wessex) as well as memorable characters. Emily Bronte’s intense "Wuthering Heights" is another novel that comes to mind. Bronte successfully imparted the impact of Yorkshire moors on her characters. All of this is a long way of getting to my point. Because I appreciate novels, which communicate that sense of the physical setting, I found Jo Bannister’s "The Fifth Cataract" a pleasure to read. "The Fifth Cataract" is set in the isolated marshlands on the eastern coast of England. These bleak wetlands play an important role is this gritty mystery.

Researching a novel, writer Clio Marsh joins a survival camp but only as an observer. The camp’s directors decide otherwise, convincing her that they can adjust the course to her fitness level. Reluctantly Clio enrolls in the course. Located near the camp is a chemical plant. Within a few days students become ill with something the locals call "Marsh Fever". A reader doesn’t have to be a genius to figure out that the chemical plant is going to play a role in this fever. Quickly the plant and its owners turn sinister. When the survivalists seek medical aid and attempt to contact the police after one of them dies, they are imprisoned at the plant. The students, who were only playing at survival, now must become true survivalists.

The setting is almost palpable and heavily influences the plot dynamics of the novel. The Norfolk Broads could not be a more desolate, forbidding environment. The author describes a swamp without the greenery. Gray is the dominant color. The marsh is gray; the sea is gray; and the weather is gray. A gray rain falls continually. The only inhabitants live in an almost deserted village aptly named Graveleigh. Even the villagers seem to be gray. Desolate, bleak, forlorn…do you get the picture? Any attempt to cross the marshes at night is suicidal. This is not a good place to be trapped with a chemical plant sending toxins into the environment and armed guards chasing you with evil intent.

Because Ms. Bannister’s description of the Norfolk marshlands was so austere, I became increasingly curious about this place. Using my trusty computer and mouse, I hopped on the Internet and surfed to a Norfolk UK web site. Actually, the Norfolk marshland looks beautiful. Definitely a place I would like to visit, but then I don’t have a bunch of sinister goons chasing me across a forbidding marsh through a driving rain. I’m sure Norfolk can be rather barren in the right weather but so can western Nebraska. (Don’t let the Chamber of Commerce know I said that.) Ms. Bannister is undoubtedly using a bit of poetic license to develop her plot. However, she told a whopping good story and piqued my curiosity in a number of areas. Besides investigating the Norfolk area, I searched the net to discover what a wherry is (a barge or fishing boat) and further searched my dictionary for several sailing terms.

I enjoyed "The Fifth Cataract". The author’s use of the setting in the novel intrigued me enough that I plan to read another novel by Jo Bannister, "Breaking Faith". It opens with the following: "LAND IS LIKE PEOPLE: it has a skeleton under its cloak of flesh. Also, like people, some landscapes carry more flesh than others." It promises to use landscape in a similar way. The library has several other books by Jo Bannister.

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