Published 24th March 2021 by Smoke and Mirrors Press.
From the cover of the book:
Dreamers, singers, heroes and killers, they can dazzle with their beauty or their talent or their unmitigated evil, yet inside themselves they are as frail and desperate as the rest of us. But can you see them? Can you unravel the truth? These are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see.The settings are mostly 60's and 70's UK and USA, and the driving themes are inclusion, social justice and of course, nostalgia - but the real key to these stories is that the protagonists' identities are withheld. This means that your job is to find them, leading to that Eureka moment when you realise who's mind you've been inhabiting for the last twenty minutes.
******************************
Backstories is an intriguing collection of fourteen short stories that asks you to assume the guise of a detective and guess the identity of the characters portrayed in each one. I am always up for a literary challenge, and found the idea of a guessing game for grown-ups rather appealing, so settled down with this one over a cup of tea one quiet afternoon.
Each story has you looking through the eyes of a mystery individual from history or popular culture at a pivotal moment in their lives, and although they are mostly set in the 1960s and 70s there are a couple that go somewhat beyond this time frame - one of them very far back indeed.
They are well written, succinct, with interesting little clues and word plays hidden here and there to help you guess who's who, and are of varying levels of difficulty. I must admit that I didn't find them particularly hard to guess at my age, but if you are of more tender years you will inevitably struggle with some of them (some Googling may help you along) - even so, there are enough of them from the point of view of characters so well known you are bound to recognise them, and will feel pretty happy with your investigative skills as a result. Some of the insights they provide into the people we think we already know very well are also pretty thought provoking.
As a concept, this is one that has that legs, but I would like to see a mix of characters from more recent years in the next volume to increase the breadth of appeal among a younger reading audience, especially since the guessing game element is so unusual. I would also like to see some way for you to be able to check your guesses, to see if you have got them right, which does not seem to be an option at present.
This is a refreshingly different sort of read, and it will give you a spot of light entertainment during the quiet afternoon hours, or as a gentle bedtime read (although it may provoke strange dreams). It's always good to get your thinking cap on now and again, and as the great Poirot says, "If the little grey cells are not exercised, they grow the rust...".
Backstories is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to Simon Van Der Velde for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
Since completing a creative writing M.A. (with distinction) in 2010, Simon’s work has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards including; The Yeovil Literary Prize, (twice), The Wasafiri New Writing Prize, The Luke Bitmead Bursary, The Frome Short story Prize, The Harry Bowling Prize, The Henshaw Press Short Story Competition and The National Association of Writers’ Groups Open Competition - establishing him as one of the UK’s foremost short-story writers.
Simon now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with his wife, Nicola, their labradoodle, Barney and two tyrannical children.
Simon now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with his wife, Nicola, their labradoodle, Barney and two tyrannical children.
No comments:
Post a Comment