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Synopsis
Ray Robinson’s visceral, ambitious debut novel Electricity is a tour de force portrayal of a heroine you will not soon forget. Thirty-year-old Lily O’Connor lives with epilepsy, uncontrollable surges of electricity that leave her in a constant state of edginess. Prickly, up-front-honest and down-to-earth practical, Lily has learned to make do, to make the most of things, to look after — and out for — herself. Then her mother — whom Lily has not seen for years — dies, and Lily is drawn back into a world she thought she’d long since left behind. Reunited with her brother, a charismatic poker player, Lily pursues her own high-stakes gamble, leaving for London to track down her other, missing brother Mikey. In the pandemonium of the city, Lily’s seizures only intensify. As her journey takes her from her comfort zone, it leads her into the question of what her life is meant to be.
Leslie Patterson - Library Journal
Thirty-year-old Lily O'Connor suffers from epilepsy. Abused as a child by her alcoholic mother, she grew up in foster care and is now working as a bingo caller in a dismal seaside town in northern England. After her mother dies, Lily is reunited with her brother Barry, a professional poker player known as Slick. Lily becomes obsessed with locating her other brother, Mikey, who was last seen operating a reptile house. Despite her frequent terrifying seizures, she sets off to London to search for Mikey. At first she is overwhelmed by the chaos of the huge city, but she is determined to start a new life. Along the way, she finds both betrayal and the hope of true friendship. First-time novelist Robinson has succeeded in writing a convincing story from a female perspective while giving us an edgy, gripping look at what it's like to live with epilepsy. Recommended.