https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/metronome-by-tom-watson/

Two people on an isolated island, exiled with each other for the crime of conceiving a child without a permit; and then their world changes. The build-up of tension just from the routine of isolation is well done; and the shift of perspective as the outside world reasserts itself is really superb. Not a comfortable read, nor a quick one, but very nicely executed. ( )

Initially, it started very well with an interesting poem eyes and also a feeling of something very different. This felt like good suspenseful near future dystopian fiction. However, it loses its way partially around about the midpoint to 2/3 through and I don’t think it really recovers from that stumble. I’m not sure that the ending is particularly satisfying, but then again, it’s also not a cursory warning. I think the characters were well drawn out and I think that their ploys and motives were entirely believable. I do however feel that it lacks something. ( )

Dystopian island life, but even I guessed story line! ( )

Desolate Dystopia
Review of the Bloomsbury Publishing hardcover (March 31, 2022)

You are going to want to google Can Sheep Actually Swim? very soon after starting this book, so I've saved you some time.
See photograph at https://www.farmanimalreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Can-Sheep-Actually-S...
Yes. but only short distances! According to Farm Animal Report.

I found it difficult to completely buy into the premise and situation of Metronome. So it became more a case of accepting its scenario where the characters play out their parts for dramatic effect.

The setup is that a couple, Aina and Whitney have been in exile on a supposed island for 12 years for the crime in their future dystopian society of conceiving a child without a permit. They are limited in their movements by being required to take a pill every 8 hours in order to survive the effects of the toxic bacteria released from melted permafrost. The pills are dispensed by a machine with an apparently infinite reservoir of the tablets. The machine dispenses according to an individual's thumbprint and is impregnable. The location is not exactly specified but certain factors (they live in a croft (a Scottish farm dwelling), shipwrecks often have Nordic names, the use of an ancient Celtic counting system, a nearby permafrost indicates a northern locale, etc.) hint that they are likely in the Orkney archipelago north of Scotland. They are nearing the end of their 12-year sentence but supply drops stopped a few years ago and their 'Warden' no longer answers their radio messages. They have survived with their meagre crops and from scavenging the occasional shipwreck.

The situation becomes a crisis when no one appears after the 12 years to rescue them. At the same time, a lone sheep appears and settles in to graze on their lands. Whitney is insistent that it is all a test to prove their repentance. Aina is meanwhile suspicious that they are not on an island at all (i.e. Can sheep swim? See above) and that the outside society has collapsed and no one is coming. Both of them yearn for their son from whom they were separated, and both are keeping secrets from each other. Aina begins to form a plan of escape (due to a small timing defect in the dispensing machine) but events become even more dramatic when signs of further human life appear.

You never really learn anything about the outside society so you have to just imagine a future population controlled civilization also subject to the poisonous effects of climate change. That this society also takes the time and trouble to exile people to isolated locations but still provide resources and communications becomes a bit of a stretch. Also the idea that people would wait 12 years before doing something further about their situation is also unbelievable. It is a first novel though, and it did build suspense and drama effectively towards the end.

It does also get an Ambiguous Ending Alert ™ though. The ending is in somewhat of a delirium state due to events, so what then occurs can be taken in various ways. You can imagine a 'happy ending' if you like, although realistically it seems unlikely. Anyway, if you don't like those sorts of endings, be forewarned.

I read Metronome through its inclusion in the 2022 Year of Reading blind subscription from the English language bookstore Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France.

Other Reviews
A mixed review at Fragile Hopes of Escape by Nina Allen, The Guardian, April 7, 2022.

Trivia and Links
Metronome was a BBC Radio 2 Between the Covers book club selection for the summer of 2022 and you can see the list of 14 selections here. The specific episode discussing the book has not yet aired as of mid-May 2022, (NOTE: These are only available for listening in the United Kingdom) but you can watch for it in the list of Between the Covers episodes here. ( )