The secret lives of people in love by Simon Van Booy, has been my read for the week.
Hmm ... What can I say? Van Booy's stories have lulled me into a calmness that makes me not want to bellow out words of enjoyment or disapproval. Not that I disapprove. Van Booy's mystic aura and poetic narratives make you feel as though you’ve been transported to another place, to a soundless island where loneliness abounds. A place steeped in sadness and loss where no-one ever wants to be.
You might think this doom and gloom read is not for you. Van Booy's stories drape the sense of losing someone around your shoulders. Motherless youths, drowning sailors and redundant parents place you in the depths of lost relationships. Simon singles out the loneliest people on the planet and peers into their lives through a magnifying glass. The only sense of relief is knowing you haven’t had to endure the life Van Booy's characters have suffered.
Unlike some short story writers and a fashion that enjoys leaving the reader in the lurch at the end of the tale, Simon often gives some indication of resolution and for this, I thank him. I don't always have time to think too long about what might have happened.
Some of his expressions are so fresh and crisp or so lavishly intense, that I found myself re-reading them just for the pleasure. The calming narrative will make you want to celebrate life and people. Give it a go. It can only help you breathe life more passionately.
Gillian
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