Judgement Day

 Judgement Day by Penelope Lively

In the quiet English village of Laddenham, Clare Paling is trying to settle into a new lifestyle. Her husband's career made this a favourable move for their family but it's left her rather at loose ends. In the local church, examining a medieval work of art depicting judgement day, Clare, avowed atheist, meets the Vicar, a man wavering in his faith who is both oddly attracted to and annoyed by the new neighbour. 

Besides Clare and the Vicar, two other characters stand out. One is Stanley, a retired veteran and now churchwarden, a sullen man who has lived alone for many years after losing his wife and child in a freak accident. The other is Martin, a neglected teenage boy in a fragile family situation. Circumstances lead to Martin being in Stanley's care for a time, which sees both of them begin to heal, until...

It's a straightforward plot with a rumbling undercurrent of tension that reveals more than the words do and asks some weighty questions about life. How much is choice, or chance? And why struggle with choices at all if life is ultimately uncertain and often cruel? 

An easy read, but by no means a light one.