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Speed of Light (Joy Cowley, Gecko Press)

Jeff’s family life is less than ideal. His brother is in a Thai prison, his sister has a secret she won’t reveal, his mother is unhappy and his father is too obsessed with money to care. Jeff can feel his family drifting apart, and is helpless to stop it. He resorts to finding comfort in the reliability of numbers. But then a storm brings a mysterious old lady called Maisie into his life. Speed of Light feels like the film Donnie Darko, if Donnie Darko was about alternate realities instead of time travel. The relationships between the family members, particularly Jeff and his sister, are beautifully written; Joy Cowley does not shy away from the nastiness of families under stress, but makes sure nothing is ever damaged beyond repair. The appearances of Maisie add a mysterious, slightly supernatural element to the story, which makes the moments of light shine with more warmth than they otherwise may have. Speed of Light recalls The Book of Everything by Guss Kuijer with a touch of Markus Zusak’s The Messenger.

Dani Solomon is a bookseller at Readings Carlton

 

Category: Reviews