A cracking good yarn and a succinct novel in which the quality of writing is stunning, but..
Coming in at under two hundred pages and written in controlled prose of exceptional quality, Mouth to Mouth is the very definition of a cracking good yarn.
The unnamed narrator of this story, a little-known author, has red-eyed his way from Los Angeles en route to Berlin when he happens to catch sight of a college contemporary from twenty years earlier by the name of Jeff Cook. The two were no more than acquaintances during college but with both waiting for the same delayed flight Jeff invites our narrator to share a drink in the first-class lounge. This leads to Jeff sharing a previously undisclosed account of the time when, just out of college, he resuscitated a drowning stranger. At the time what might have been the stranger attempting to acknowledge Jeff’s part in his survival is thwarted when he is stretchered away. The event haunts Jeff and in the coming weeks it feels important that he gives this stranger the opportunity to thank him and also to find out more about the man whose life he saved. Jeff’s interest soon turns into something akin to stalking as he uncovers the man’s identity, Francis Arsenault, and embeds himself into the world of the art dealer with no sign that the near victim has recognised him. But the more that Jeff learns about the man and his business dealings, the more pressing his questions about Francis’s integrity become.
This is a novel which keeps the reader on the edge of the seat, fully suspecting that Jeff has an ulterior motive for breaking his twenty year silence, but never quite knowing what to expect. Whilst it might not be a thriller, the novel and the storytelling are shot through with suspense, as well as obvious questions as to the veracity of Jeff’s account and the motivation behind his disclosure. Undoubtedly part of the success of Mouth to Mouth is that Wilson keeps the novel concise and focused and the fact that our narrator does not have any preconceptions about Jeff, with their history limited to the occasional glimpse around campus twenty years earlier. However it is hard not to be suspicious of Jeff and the way he shoehorns what begins as a lifesaving story and soon turns into his life story, into the conversation. I read the entire story with the expectation of some kind of sting in the tail. As a piece of entertainment Mouth to Mouth comes very highly recommended; it’s well-written, involving and throws up thought-provoking questions about opportunity as opposed to exploitation and simply manipulating the circumstances to one’s advantage. For me this was the central question but the premise seems to hint at deeper questions of identity, destiny and self-delusion that I never felt were convincingly explored or answered.
A slick and rather unsettling page-turner but it just left me feeling a bit bemused and wondering what Antoine Wilson’s ambition for this novel was. In terms of style I found it reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith.
The unnamed narrator of this story, a little-known author, has red-eyed his way from Los Angeles en route to Berlin when he happens to catch sight of a college contemporary from twenty years earlier by the name of Jeff Cook. The two were no more than acquaintances during college but with both waiting for the same delayed flight Jeff invites our narrator to share a drink in the first-class lounge. This leads to Jeff sharing a previously undisclosed account of the time when, just out of college, he resuscitated a drowning stranger. At the time what might have been the stranger attempting to acknowledge Jeff’s part in his survival is thwarted when he is stretchered away. The event haunts Jeff and in the coming weeks it feels important that he gives this stranger the opportunity to thank him and also to find out more about the man whose life he saved. Jeff’s interest soon turns into something akin to stalking as he uncovers the man’s identity, Francis Arsenault, and embeds himself into the world of the art dealer with no sign that the near victim has recognised him. But the more that Jeff learns about the man and his business dealings, the more pressing his questions about Francis’s integrity become.
This is a novel which keeps the reader on the edge of the seat, fully suspecting that Jeff has an ulterior motive for breaking his twenty year silence, but never quite knowing what to expect. Whilst it might not be a thriller, the novel and the storytelling are shot through with suspense, as well as obvious questions as to the veracity of Jeff’s account and the motivation behind his disclosure. Undoubtedly part of the success of Mouth to Mouth is that Wilson keeps the novel concise and focused and the fact that our narrator does not have any preconceptions about Jeff, with their history limited to the occasional glimpse around campus twenty years earlier. However it is hard not to be suspicious of Jeff and the way he shoehorns what begins as a lifesaving story and soon turns into his life story, into the conversation. I read the entire story with the expectation of some kind of sting in the tail. As a piece of entertainment Mouth to Mouth comes very highly recommended; it’s well-written, involving and throws up thought-provoking questions about opportunity as opposed to exploitation and simply manipulating the circumstances to one’s advantage. For me this was the central question but the premise seems to hint at deeper questions of identity, destiny and self-delusion that I never felt were convincingly explored or answered.
A slick and rather unsettling page-turner but it just left me feeling a bit bemused and wondering what Antoine Wilson’s ambition for this novel was. In terms of style I found it reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith.