Yes, it's another book review.
Yes, there will be more on life in Brasil shortly.
For the moment, I am trying to catch up on my reading, having thrown myself full bore into writing my second children's story. This one happens to be a novel and I'm really very excited about it. I fair rattled through this novel in particular and you'll read why soon enough.
Plot: A man of an unspecified age, receives a phone call at the office, from his assistant, advising him he has worked really quite late and as a result, if he doesn't get a wriggle on, he'll miss the last tube home. He then 'wriggles'. While on the train, he observes a young woman reading a book and seemingly oblivious to the four 'youths' entering the carriage. They proceed to hassle her, until she pushed back and goes to join the man a little father up. Now, we all know what's coming next and thankfully that isn't the end of the story or even hugely important to the story, but given Garland's literary capabilities, you'd have thought he could create a better introduction to the title.
Anyway, he gets his ass kicked and the next we hear from him, it's his disembodied essence taking us on a ride through his conscious memories on a mission to find his way back home. Sounds a little Quantum Leap, but it isn't.
The story is short, mainly because it shows images throughout made by Mr Garland Senior and every scene is separated as a new chapter. As such, a book that initially appears in the 250 page realm, is in fact more like 80 pages. That's not such a worry. You have to take this as a short story.
Using his imagination and descriptive skills, Garland Junior takes us on a journey through confusion, understanding, obscurity and delusion. The character seeks solace in friendship, relationships, abstract impressions and faulty memory until he understands his predicament and endeavours to solve it.
While being one of the Garland stories that would probably never find itself on the screen, it is in fact expertly well told. The limbo realm is deep and leaves the reader swimming for life and rationalisation.
Worth the read if you are an aspiring novelist as it taxes the writer to delve into his own memories annd understanding.
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