A warning that the following might contain spoilers…
This is a book of 2 parts; the first takes a standard format
for a novel, with omnipotent narrator etc (although chapters jump around
chronologically), the second the format of the journal of one of the
characters. This creates a transition
between the openness of the first part and the more claustrophobic inner world
of Joe in the second.
I found this a captivating read, in large part because there
was a degree of personal familiarity with Joe’s neurotic character. There was however still a sense of loss that
some of the stories begun in the first part were left unfinished as those
characters were not of particular interest to Joe and his journal.
While I enjoyed the experience of reading it, there was a
feeling of frustration with the narrative once I had finished it. I feel that Woolley either needed to provide
a fuller dramatic conclusion or have simply left us in full flow and not given
us the final chapter, which I feel is rather weak.
One of the things that I did like is the way that Woolley
creates this sense that “life” is made up mainly of things which almost happen
(for better or worse). In a lot of
fiction you get the feeling the writer has thrown the kitchen sink at their
characters and everything that could happen does. (This is especially true in many long running
US TV dramas…). I think you get to a
certain age in life when your character is best defined by the way in which you
handle the near misses!
Woolley’s handling of sex is another aspect of the book that
I found successfully. Between Joe and
Mary the descriptions of sex are pretty graphic, but graphic in a matter of
fact way, neither rose-tinted nor smutty. Joe’s relationships with his male friends, and
their potential as a context for sex, is also well informed. In Joe’s mind at least they are a source of
plenty of the “almosts”! But that feels
very authentic, once you are open to the idea the men do have sex with each
other, male friendships and the intimacy they contain can become filled with
complexity.
I am now looking forward to reading Woolley’s 2 other
novels.
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