This evolving friendship saga provides compulsive reading.
To hear someone that I knew had committed suicide would not only shock and sadden me, it would raise the question: could I / anyone have prevented it? The answer would depend on many, many variables. Particularly if the victim felt they couldn’t reach out to their ‘friends’, as unfortunately was the case for Danny.
But after his funeral he had orchestrated a little surprise for each of his life-long friends in the form of a cutting speech sharp enough to wound, and a sealed envelope containing a secret they have never shared with one another. These revelations occur during the very early stages of the book and I was quickly bitten by the intrigue bug.
Cruelly backing the group into a corner begs yet another question: did Danny hope his tactics would collectively shame those supposedly closest to him for the isolation he experienced at the end of his life, or give them an encouraging shove to face their own demons?
I can’t say I found any of the ‘crew’ particularly likeable. But I could imagine each of their faces as they were presented with their envelope. Thinking they already knew everything about each other after growing up in the same claustrophobic town, quickly followed by ‘what the hell can I do to stop my life from imploding?’
The first person narration gives each character the distinct voice they need to share their own story and the impact this has on their individual relationships from ‘then’ (ten years + ago) and ‘now’ (after Danny’s funeral). And although this story took off in a direction I wasn’t expecting this evolving friendship saga provided compulsive reading all the same.
But after his funeral he had orchestrated a little surprise for each of his life-long friends in the form of a cutting speech sharp enough to wound, and a sealed envelope containing a secret they have never shared with one another. These revelations occur during the very early stages of the book and I was quickly bitten by the intrigue bug.
Cruelly backing the group into a corner begs yet another question: did Danny hope his tactics would collectively shame those supposedly closest to him for the isolation he experienced at the end of his life, or give them an encouraging shove to face their own demons?
I can’t say I found any of the ‘crew’ particularly likeable. But I could imagine each of their faces as they were presented with their envelope. Thinking they already knew everything about each other after growing up in the same claustrophobic town, quickly followed by ‘what the hell can I do to stop my life from imploding?’
The first person narration gives each character the distinct voice they need to share their own story and the impact this has on their individual relationships from ‘then’ (ten years + ago) and ‘now’ (after Danny’s funeral). And although this story took off in a direction I wasn’t expecting this evolving friendship saga provided compulsive reading all the same.