Reviews

Having had the pleasure of working with this author in his previous career as a highly skilled and respected academic, a wonderful teacher and researcher, I was of course surprised when he mentioned some time ago that he was leaving this career to concentrate on fulltime writing of a novel. I was saddened to lose my co-researcher and academic partner. Well, having read his first foray into fiction with this terrific novel, I am thrilled that he made this decision, especially as he has brought into the exercise all his talents of observation, analysis, critical thinking, empathy and beautiful writing, to flesh out such an important and timely novel when we are all challenged to understand each other better and rebuild the collapse of social cohesion.

The novel fulfills its promise from the back cover as we are introduced to the central character Myles Niemann, a child with his two siblings of Holocaust survivors. Hoping to escape the inherited trauma, Myles has forsaken his religion and escaped into the highflying commercial world of finance but is constantly reminded of his traumatic ancestry and especially through his relationship with his mother. With her death, alongside a divorce, and an unrealised health challenge, he is confronted with facing the horror of the past and the need to radically rethink his life for the future.

This is the journey the author takes us on but through an almost daily narrative of Myles’ steps towards a better future, with pragmatism and humour rather than the distress and pathos that might have been possible in such a novel, we become engaged with each step of the way. This is through the clever craft of narrative and characterization and plot construction that only gives away so much and then leaves the reader to walk alongside the hero’s efforts at renewal without too much handholding. We are introduced to his two siblings and their diverse reactions to the central plot secret and how they confront the Jewish religion in which their upbringing has been grounded. With the introduction of a psychologist and a new woman in his life, Aura, herself having been reared in an unconventional upbringing, Myles finds new source of support, alongside that of his own family.

I found walking alongside Myles in his journey both exciting and immensely satisfying as it reflected the sorts of journeys some of us must confront and traverse, and so the author speaks to many, not just those from the Jewish faith and history. The last few chapters were particularly engaging, as we join Myles in the many new opportunities facing him – both personal and professional. So, I cannot wait to hear about his choices and outcomes in the sequel to this first novel as the author takes us on the next steps in the remaking of Myles.