The Sandpit of the title is a feature at the Phoenix private preparatory school in Oxford. John Dyer, former journalist, is himself ‘a Phoenician’ - an old boy of the school. Having spent much of his life living in South America, but finding himself back in Britain, and in possession of an unexpected legacy from an aunt, he enrols his son at The Phoenix

Leandro’s mother, estranged from Dyer but also now living in Britain, is Brazilian, and they had lived together in Rio de Janeiro. As if succumbing to national stereotype, Leandro turns out to be an excellent footballer. This proves pivotal to the story as it results in Leandro being elevated to the School’s first eleven, although he is still two years younger than most of the other boys in the team. Samir, one of Leandro’s classmates is equally talented, and also finds himself picked early for the first team. If two young boys are brought into the team, someone else obviously has to lose their place, and one of the boys asked to make way is Vasyli, whose parents are a minor Russian oligarch and his gorgeous trophy wife. Vasyli is not gracious in defeat, and institutes a programme of intense bullying and vengeance against Leandro and Samir. This eventually comes to the attention of the various parents and teachers, leading to a conference at the school.

This is the first time that Dyer meets Rustum Marvar, Samir’s father. They strike up an almost instant friendship, and Dyer is interested to learn that Marvar is Iranian, and has been working in Oxford on an exchange programme for nuclear scientists. He only learns later that Marvar’s wife is still in Iran, where she is being held in all but name as a hostage to secure Marvar’s cooperation and eventual return. Marvar is expected to feed reports of his work back to Iran, in the hope that the Iranian authorities might thus find valuable information about the West’s approach to nuclear research.

Then Marvar disappears, prompting a police search and a minor diplomatic incident. It transpires that Dyer was the last person known to have seen him. Dyer finds himself at the confluence of investigations from several different groups, each with its own motive and objective in finding the missing scientist.

I found that the author developed the base scenario well, but the book is very ponderous. Shakespeare write well – almost too well. I found myself ground down by the feeling that every word had been deliberated over as if with the aim of showing the reader how clever the writer is, rather than in advancing the story in a clear and smooth manner. ( )

There was a happy time when I was naive enough to think that a story of wealth, power and corruption linked to a single public school might be a bit far-fetched. In The Sandpit, the drama revolves not around past or present pupils, but the parents of the children at one privileged Oxford prep school.

John Dyer is an alumnus of the school and for sentimental reasons decides to spend the little money he has on sending his son Leandro there. Dyer has, until recently, been working as a journalist in South America and his estranged partner, Leandro’s mother, is Brazilian. The school has changed, though, from being frequented by upper-middle-class merely wealthy British people to the international super-rich.

Dyer befriends an Iranian scientist and fellow parent, Rustum Marvar. They both feel in different ways estranged from the social set at the school and their relationship creates echoes for Dyer of his own childhood friendship with an eccentric fellow pupil.

Then Marvar tells him about a momentous discovery he has made, and his fears that his wife and young daughter in Iran have been imprisoned and tortured in order to get him to give up the secret. Various parents at the school, through their links to politics, finance and espionage, also have an interest in the discovery. Dyer now has a responsibility beyond his wish to care for Leandro – feeling the fate of both Marvar and the discovery are in his hands.

This may sound like a thriller but it has more the feel of a literary novel. It is quite atmospheric in places, the small cast built around the school recreating the claustrophobic, incestuous nature of the elite, and contrasting with Dyer’s experience as an international journalist, working throughout the world. (Dyer featured in a previous novel, The Dancer Upstairs, but this is not being marketed as a sequel and The Sandpit reads fine as a standalone.)

Dyer reflects a great deal on his childhood, his time in South America, his family and his obligations to his friend, his country and to the ideals which led him into journalism. It is often beautifully written and conveys the atmosphere of Brazil and the sinuous nature of memory. It also gives a sense of the disconnect between the outward respectability of Britain, as exemplified by institutions like the school, and the way money and power in fact move all the levers for an international elite (as highlighted in the recent publication of the Russia report).

There are also nice moments as we see Dyer’s normal life in Oxford, before he met Marvar, which he still tries to hang on to as events escalate. Many readers might envy his life spent immersed in research in university libraries, taking his breaks in favourite Oxford cafés.

The writing did, at times though, feel a little overdone. There are sections that don’t appear to add much to the story, such as chapter where Dyer takes his son to the Lakes on a fishing trip, and recalls how he bonded with his own father during similar excursions. You feel that this passage, and others like it, mean something to the author but they don’t fit in the book. The end, when it comes, feels a little contrived and convenient.

Despite those reservations, I did enjoy the atmosphere and the quality of the writing. If you’re more engaged by themes and prose than by a thriller plot, this is worth a read.
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I received a copy of The Sandpit from the publisher via Netgalley. ( )

After spending most of his career in South America former journalist Dyer suffered emotional upset and tired of the violence in Rio so has returned to the Oxford of his youth with his son Leandro. Enrolling his son in the expensive prep school he attended, Dyer is aware of the disparity between himself and the other parents, rich and powerful, with the exception of Marvar, an Iranian physicist. When Marvar makes a discover and then disappears Dyer is the only person in control of a formula that could change the world, but everyone wants it, The Iranians, the Israelis, the USA, the British and the international businessmen.
The is a very intelligent and very slow-burning book which makes it something special. Dyer is living a very small life after living a large life on the international stage. His devotion to his studies and his son are written very tenderly . His confusion after receiving the legacy from his friend is carefully considered and the reactions to the potential knowledge are very low key. This is extremely clever writing by Shakespeare, every note is carefully nuanced and almost played down, the fledgling romance, the violence etc. This was a surprising and very fulfilling novel. ( )