Midway through taking a dump on his compost loo, disenfranchised loner Liam is confronted by Daniel Bloomberg, the local aristocrat. They couldn’t be any more different: he’s a Tory, Liam’s a lefty; Daniel’s a southerner, Liam’s a northerner; Daniel’s rich, Liam lives hand-to-mouth; Daniel’s indirect, Liam’s straight forward. But they’re both men, they’re both lonely and they both carry wounds.
Thirty something Maya seeks connection through polyamory. She hasn’t had sex for forever … or at least four weeks. Then along comes Troy to one of her Conscious Movement dance evenings. He’s edgy, blunt, scary, perfect for scratching an itch. That is until he gets the insane idea they’re in a relationship.
Troy’s trying his best to go straight, do the right thing. He’s in therapy, goes to an anger management group and has a direct line to God, but is this enough to stop him going back to his old ways?
Meredith’s life has become dull and boring, rather like her husband. They don’t talk, they never play, and sex, well the less said about that, the better. And if only she could get rid of the irritating gardener!
Set in 2014 between Surrey and London, the fateful Brexit referendum on the horizon, five Britons become inextricably linked, each searching for something more meaningful to add to their existence, but to change their lives they need to do something terrifying – change themselves.
"I'm not usually one to read novels and when I do I rarely finish them. Usually, about half way through a novel, I start to think 'I don't care about these people'. So a novel I read to the end (which I did in this case) is a rare find. 2 things I liked about this book: 1. It was a page-turner, to the point where I was up till 3am on 2 consecutive nights, unable to put my kindle down. Warning: this book could lead to insomnia. 2. The writing was often startlingly original. I found myself rereading passages in admiration of the words the author had chosen, and the pictures he'd conjured up. It wasn't cliched or predictable - the surprises kept on coming. And the title (which I admit slightly irritated me with its shock tactics) made sense in the end." Amazon review
★★★★★
An Entertaining Read
A Stroud Novelist has written a humorous novel about division and reconciliation, J. L. Dent’s dark, edgy comedy about bad relationships, delves into societal divisions, with a frivolous nod to D. H. Lawrence’s 1924, once banned classic, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Dent’s story begins in 2014; the UK on the brink of the stay or leave Brexit referendum. Each chapter alternating in character’s point of view. First, we meet Liam, a disenfranchised loner who finds himself working for local aristocrat, Daniel. Their lives alien to each other, yet loneliness and past trauma draws them into a connection they’re both desperately in need of.
Next, we’re introduced to Maya who runs alternative dance classes. The kind you might find in the counterculture side of Stroud, Maya describes herself as polyamorous, without quite grasping the ethical side of this, and in her hands it turns into a clunky, time bomb, particularly when it comes to her latest lover, Troy, fresh out of prison, and possibly not the kind of man you want to annoy.
The plot twists and turns from beginning to end, with plenty of surprises. One chapter was so funny, tea literally exploded from my mouth mid-sentence, others made me cry, whilst Troy is just plain scary. The writing also has contemplative moments, particularly within the natural world where much of the story is set, and then of course there’s the romance that stays on the side of authentic throughout. Genre wise, it doesn’t quite fit into any particular box, but this goes along with each character’s struggle of knowing who they are, an existential question that reverberates throughout. It’s a book that challenges ideas around identity, how we put limited definitions on ourselves and others, through class, gender and race. It reflects on this not in a preachy way, but instead by playing with paradox and contradiction.
Throw into the mix a blend of entertaining characters; Daniel’s snobby, elitist wife Meredith, struggling to ride a menopausal tsunami, Maya’s guru whose new age platitudes she constantly quotes, the Buddhist with an unpronounceable name, Troy’s poker-faced therapist, and many others, making for a truly entertaining read.