My Policeman

This book tells the story of Patrick Hazelwood and Tom Burgess' relationship in the 1950s, and how dangerous it was to be gay at the time. The story also shows the side of the story that Tom's wife (Marion Taylor/Burgess) sees after he marries her as a safety net, and how the secrecy affects her too.

The way that the whole book was written was also beautiful, so much was said, without having to put the words down on paper. I found that it was extremely easy for me to form opinions on the characters. As a whole, I didn't really like any of the characters, apart from Julia.

Marion for her desperate attempts to remain in a seemingly 'happy heterosexual marriage' with no changes, her obsession with Tom, and her old fashioned (though suitable at the time the book was set) views towards same-sex relationships. When she sent the letter to Patrick's boss, I definitely made up my mind that she was not a good person, after having somewhat conflicting thoughts throughout (what happened with Julia also contributed). She knew it would have impacts on everyone involved and went through with it anyway, ignoring the fact that she was potentially going to end up putting the man she loves through a great deal of emotional trauma, and the man that he loves through, even more, making all of their lives so much more miserable, it was a really selfish act.

Patrick for his obsession with Tom too, and for his two-sided nature, how he acted around Marion, and what he said in his diary about her. Although they were together in a one-sided relationship, I feel that Patrick could have been a bit nicer in regards to her being with Tom, as for a large majority of the time, she didn't know. It also seemed a bit strange and disconcerting how he would always mention Tom's age, calling him things like 'boyish', and 'young' as he describes his 'youth'.

There is not much I can say about Tom, as he had no say in the book, and his story was only told from the point of view of two people completely infatuated with him, so I can only go from what I learned from Marion and Patrick's entries. He seems like the most decent out of the trio, although I was not a fan of how he took advantage of Marion's fixation with him so he could be seen in a higher place within society.

I would have liked to learn more about the three of them when they all got older and after Patrick had his strokes as I feel it would have bettered my understanding of how they interact toward the end of the book. I do see that Marion is obviously feeling guilty for what she did and is trying to make up for it in how she looks after him, but yet again, I would have liked to hear Tom's point of view on that.

Overall, this book felt very real when I was reading it, but it didn't evoke as many emotions within me as I thought it would. It did a good job of portraying a realistic situation in the 1950s and created vivid images in my head as I read, which made it seem more personal, as did the way it was written as diary entries.

★★★