Authors in Focus: Simon Lelic

Okay, so I slipped up there for a few days, and ended the strong writing streak that I had going. But I managed to write something halfway decent yesterday regarding a recent trip to see a Nets game with my son, and it felt good at least to get back on track. This has hardly been what I would consider a "normal" week for me, yet I do want to maintain some semblance of discipline with things like this. That Nets entry was meant to be for two days prior, but since I never got around to it on that day….well, let's just say I'd like to start a new streak now. So, here goes….

I figured that I would do another "Author in Focus" installment, although these cannot come too quickly. There are, obviously, a lot of authors out there, but since I am only one man, and do not even read particularly fast or anything, I do not want to use up all that I have got in this area with quick synopses of various authors, just to produce some filler space. These should be authors who's works influenced and/or impressed me, at least, and preferably, who wrote more than one book that I had actually read. Not that it would be particularly bad if I wrote a review of an author that either produced only one book, or whom I only read one book from. Just that, all in all, it is a further mark of how much of an impact they had on me, if I have read more than one of their books. Reading a book takes time, usually, and thus, choosing to spend that much time with an author means that I was impressed with their writing style, their message, both, or some other aspect, perhaps, of their writing. Maybe a fascinating subject, or maybe some other thing that drew me to them.

Whichever way, it is something that I would like to continue, and so here I am, once again. Today, I will focus on an author who has an amazing writing style, writes about some stimulating subject matter, and seems to have a message that I can appreciate. That is a rare author, and his name is Simon Lelic.

I read what was perhaps his most famous work, the one that he is usually associated with, which was called "A Thousand Cuts" here in it's American release, but is evidently known as "Rupture", to my understanding, in his native Britain. My mom, who usually makes strong reading recommendations for me, opened my eyes to this one, saying that she felt I would really like it.

She was right.

In fact, this was an amazing book! It was so very well written, with incredible insight and intelligent commentary throughout. He is effective in taking a "real" perspective from many different angles, if you will, capably taking on different narratives from very different characters, including a reclusive and tortured young teacher who does not fit in, his frustrated girlfriend and fellow teacher, a rival gym teacher who is your big, typical dumb jock type, a female police officer investigating a school shooting while dealing with sexual harassment in her own life, a rather stiff and unbending school Principal, and some immature and out of control teenagers. Lelic does an amazing hob of leading you in one direction initially, then eventually swaying you in the other direction, showing an entirely different side based upon who is speaking and has a very different perspective. All of the people talking are, essentially, discussing or interviewing with the female police officer, who is able eventually to piece together what has happened and find the real party responsible for how the situation grew so out of hand. In the meantime, she manages to discover something of her own situation with the harassment at her job, and is able to confront her tormentor towards the end of the book.

It is truly an amazing read.

The second work that he wrote was called "The Facility". It is not yet available in the United States (at least not to my knowledge, anyway). I had gotten it as a Mother's Day gift, I believe, for my mom, but when she finished reading it, she allowed me to read it.

You could definitely see the strengths of the author in it, and his style was similar enough to the first book to know it was him. That said, the subject matter almost could not have been more different than the first book.

It focuses on modern politics, essentially. Britain has built for itself a concentration camp on it's own soil, and it is at the ready in the event that it is ever needed. Of course, the occasion arises, as an outbreak of a strange and highly communicable disease makes the British government take quick action in detaining a number of their citizens.

One of the men taken, much to his surprise, does not know what is going on. He has been worried about being perceived as homosexual, although he is not. He feels he might be forgotten in here, that nobody knows, or worse, perhaps nobody cares, that he is here, with no way of getting in touch with the outside world.

When his ex-wife notices that something is definitely off, she approaches Tom, an investigative journalist, who then proceeds to uncover more and more about this mysterious British concentration camp.

Not surprisingly, this becomes a dangerous game, the closer he gets to finding out what he needs to find out. All the while, he finds himself strongly drawn to this ex-wife, and wants to get closer. The feelings are reciprocated, and just as they begin to get closer, the game grows considerably more dangerous.

            It is a novel of government secrecy, of insecurities, self-preservation, of power and ideology, and of people that, although not real themselves, are real enough.  It is a story about silence, and what often goes unreported or, perhaps even, unnoticed. Different from his first novel, to be sure, but still very strong.

            He has come out with another novel, for that matter, and I just found out about it while doing a bit of research for this piece. It is called "The Child Who", and so I will look to find out more, and perhaps even get my hands on a copy, if at all possible. Lelic is definitely an author worth exploring more!