Book review: Together by Luke Adam Hawker with words by Marianne Laidlaw [blog tour]

This past year has been difficult for many reasons. Not in the least the loneliness and detachment many have felt by being being away from their friends and families for such a long time. This has been especially tough for elderly people and those living by themselves. Inspired by his grandfather, Luke Adam Hawker has taken this feeling of loneliness and created a heartfelt story through his beautiful drawings of an old man and his dog cut off from the world during a big storm.

Many people will be familiar with the sensation that is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, which was the Waterstones Book of the Year in 2019. And while Luke Adam Hawker's book Together is a wholly different story – and has a different illustrative style – that's what I immediately had to think of and what drew me in to reading it. And I'm so glad it did, because this book is absolutely sensational and now takes pride of place on my bookshelves. 

The illustrations are so beautiful and intricate, you can see how much care and thought has been put into each one. And I loved how cleverly the book is designed to create even more of an impact with the placing of the illustrations and the space surrounding the figures. Each page is carefully crafted to suit the story, and it's very powerful and effective way of enhancing the message. 

Luke Adam Hawker's stunning drawings are complemented extremely well by Marianne Laidlaw's sporadic but apt words. Visuals and text together hit home so much. The hectic lives we were living in the 'before'. The initial rush to prepare for what's coming. The way our day-to-day lives changed so fundamentally. The loneliness while waiting for the 'storm' to be over, not knowing when this will be. And then, eventually, the pivoting. The shifting of priorities and the understanding of what's truly important in life. 

The book contains but a few words and can be read within minutes, but you'll find yourself standing still by each page, each picture, and each word for much longer than that; revisiting those parts of the story that you'll personally most resonate with. It's amazing how a 50-odd page book hit all of the feels so very well. The journey within the pages is both highly emotional and incredibly hopeful, showing the light in the darkness. Together is a book about our times, for our times.


Together by Luke Adam Hawker is published by Kyle Books (an imprint of Octopus Books) and you can order your copy now from your favourite book shop!

Blog tour stops for Together by Lucy Luke Adam Hawker

This review for Together is a part of the official blog tour for the launch of the book. Make sure you check out the other stops for more content!

Disclaimer: This book was gifted to me by the publisher, but this has not impacted this honest review.