
Boy on the Wire
Alastair Bruce(Author)
The Clerkenwell Press
Published on 13. August 2015
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-78125-454-7 (ISBN)
Description
'He is a man who lied, who told a story, a wild, fanciful story, about the death of a child, a hard and unyielding story. It is that, he finds, that he hates most. The story that was told.'
In 1983 Paul Hyde, aged ten, dies falling from a ledge in the mountains of the Karoo. His older brother Peter, who falls at the same time, survives but loses all memory of the event. The youngest brother, John, is the only witness.
Many years later, John is living in London. He and his wife Rachel, who knows nothing of the tragedy of his past and nothing of his family, make plans to have children of their own. Their life together is disrupted when Peter arrives in London and claims his memory is returning. Pulled back in spite of himself, John returns to South Africa and the home he grew up in.
His return makes him question his recollection of the tragedy. Can we ever be certain of events that happened that far in the past, certain we have not completely changed their meaning and our part in them?
In 1983 Paul Hyde, aged ten, dies falling from a ledge in the mountains of the Karoo. His older brother Peter, who falls at the same time, survives but loses all memory of the event. The youngest brother, John, is the only witness.
Many years later, John is living in London. He and his wife Rachel, who knows nothing of the tragedy of his past and nothing of his family, make plans to have children of their own. Their life together is disrupted when Peter arrives in London and claims his memory is returning. Pulled back in spite of himself, John returns to South Africa and the home he grew up in.
His return makes him question his recollection of the tragedy. Can we ever be certain of events that happened that far in the past, certain we have not completely changed their meaning and our part in them?
Reviews / Votes
Praise for WALL OF DAYS'A riveting and overwhelming story, told by a consummate storyteller who appears well set to become a defining novelist of our time * Andre Brink * Alastair Bruce's exceptional first novel has echoes of J. M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians ... a compelling dystopian fantasy and a baffling mystery story * Financial Times * An elegantly-sustained parable of tyranny, loss and memory * Guardian * An intelligent, perceptive and subtle exploration of important themes * Independent * Wall of Days is a brilliant debut novel, in fact it is a brilliant novel altogether. The prose is understated and clear, and the narrative arc buries complex ideas of guilt and accountability within simple events * Cape Times * This book has wiped the floor with me! Intense, powerful & deeply unsettling. -- Jane Rusbridge A haunting examination of guilt. -- John Harding * Daily Mail *
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 104 mm
Weight
380 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78125-454-7 (9781781254547)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Alastair Bruce was born and raised in South Africa and currently lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and two young children. Boy on the Wire is his second novel.