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Book Reviews Title A Lone
Walk Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story Wil's break for
freedom from a brutal psychiatric regime confronts
him with unexpected choices. Who can he trust? An
alluring voice from his childhood dreams? Or a big
hearted nurse who reassures him: "Not all of these
places are the same"? Gul Y. Davis'
nightmarish vision is balanced by wit, tenderness
and a passionate sense of humanity. We
Say As a novella, "A
Lone Walk" is the shortest work I have reviewed for
Fiction-Net so far. However, the emphasis here is
firmly placed on quality rather than quantity. It's
hard to believe that Gul Davis is only twenty-seven
years old, such is the assurance and skill of his
writing. He is entirely sure-footed in his plotting
and characterisation of what must have been a
difficult tale to tell. The subject
matter is sensitive - the abusive childhood and
subsequent treatment of a young psychiatric
patient. William Shaw runs away from home just a
week after being discharged from a long stint in
care, only to be picked up and returned to another,
but possibly better (?) unit. The story alternates
between the present and the past as Gul Davis
builds up a picture of the horror of Wil's previous
care (if care can even be considered to be the
correct word) and how this affects his personality
and his responses to his new environment.
Gul Davis does
not shy away from dealing with the subject with
honesty and frankness. With a first-person
narrative, there is really no escape from the full
impact of the sheer awfulness of Wil's experience.
The writer's insight into his main character is
startling and complete. At times the
prose is beautiful and poetic, at others, brutal
and sharp. The contrast is most obvious as Wil
struggles inside his head to find his own identity
and is then jolted back to the physical shocks of
the "real world". It's a good mix that works well
to carry the reader through the story. Though undeniably
sad, the book as a whole is totally convincing and
worthy. Review by: Rachel
Taylor |
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