Nigel Gray has breathed new life into an almost extinct literary form, the epistolatory novel. The time is 1988/1989. Adrian is trapped in Thatcher’s Britain. Harri has flown to a new life in Australia. The contrast between the old world and the new is sharply drawn. The protagonists come alive in a very contemporary way, warts, muddle, desires, anxieties, jokes, differences and all. Full of contradictions, they show at times great insight and intelligence as well as revealing an immense capacity for self-delusion. Gradually the layers of their pasts are peeled away to reveal their secrets. The correspondents, Harri and Adrian, intimate strangers, blighted lovers, are both ordinary and extraordinary. Their lives and loves have more highs and lows and twists and turns than a roller coaster. These letters, so full of sharp wit, stunning imagery, political perception, and insight into the human condition are love letters, entertainments, poison darts, literary jousts, and cries for help and understanding all at the same time.
