"THE NIGHT ALPHABET" By David Donachie
Posted by Matt McAvoy on Sunday, April 1, 2018 Under: Book Reviews
My second 5-star review in a week!
I
love short stories, and I was delighted to be sent “The Night
Alphabet”, which is a collection of wonderfully compact
coffee-break tales, each based (albeit tenuously) on a theme
beginning with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. They are
truly enthralling, grabbing you straight away with the heartbreaking
story of an angel living amongst us, which has a very current
socio-moral message.
David
Donachie is an incredibly creative writer, weaving his imaginative -
and sometimes plain eerie (“The Face Under My Bed”) - anecdotes
from that semi-dream state right at the edge of his sleep, when our
dreams are at their most vivid - a pool of endless resource for a
writer. I love this concept. I would liken some of the fables to
the fun nonsense children write, while others are nightmarish in
tone, resembling what Poe might compose, were he living in
contemporary times. Some have a classic British chiller feel about
them, bringing to mind Peter Cushing in the Hammer movies,
particularly “The Figurine”. With such subjects as a castle in
the clouds, an alien who steals sandwiches or a man slowly turning
into a tree, they are not genre-specific – David writes whatever he
likes. That said, though, as the book continues a common undertone
does begin to emerge: that of a bleak alternate future, and an
implied doomed-humanity prophecy; this is not to disparage in any
way, however. As you draw toward the latter stories, it starts to
occur to you that a handful (or maybe all) of the tales appear to be
linked in some complex way, and it is fun (and a little mind-blowing)
trying to decipher the connection – some underlying backstory.
However, I could be completely wrong about this – perhaps there is
none, or perhaps there is but David is not aware of it, having
created it subconsciously in that waking-dream state. One thing
which is definitely common, though, is that unifying melancholy,
which grows, in these bizarre and often cryptic tales.
I
was utterly gripped from start to finish, and enjoyed every moment.
Every time I tried to put this book down, I told myself: “Just one
more…” Needless to say, I had completed it in just a couple of
short sittings. David is an author with an engaging, atmospheric
voice, and his literature has a classic feel to it. “The Night
Alphabet” is a work of art, and I applaud him – it is like fine
dining, with twenty-six niblet-sized courses, each thoroughly
satisfying. I would love to see more from this author.
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In : Book Reviews
Tags: david-donachie short-stories alphabet fiction
