Surrender (2005) - Sonya Hartnett
I am dying; its a beautiful word...
I feel old...
But I am young - I'm the martyr's age...
I am only twenty...
Living and dying in a little town called Mulyan...
a town of abominable secrets and myth..
I am Anwell...
But to Finnigan, my 'friend'.
I am Gabriel, the messenger, the teller of astonishing truths...
Death has been an acquaintance of mine...
Like a chameleon
In many shades...
My parents
Stifled the drive of my spirits...
For awhile at least
(Insert wry, satisfied smile here)
Vern was my first death...
his birdy shadow
My first secret...
I was only seven...
Finnigan
changed the colours of my life...
His was a world of light and speed, of flame and trickery...
We shared
Surrender
A dog for all whims
And all seasons
And then there was Evangeline...
like a sprite...
toying with me...
just beyond...
Though I tried to hope it would not always be that way...
Yet ultimately
It was Vern
Older yet never older Vern...
Who finally reached out
To take my hand...
Surrender by Sonya HartnettMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Time bursts like fireworks, twisted with colourful word spins... Anwell, the storyteller most times, morphs into Gabriel, an angel of sorts. He has a co-writer, 'offsider' Finnigan, who declares 'I've touched them all: I'm like the plague.' And then there is Surrender, the dog, who chooses to swing with his moods and his loyalties. Mix in disabled Vernon, (a cameo appearance that lingers ghost-like), plus discordant parents and here is a novel that could be an enigmatic painting in progress. Death is the major player, seeming to work with and against anyone, always creating an endless cycle of dramas. Overall, a mesmerising read that leaves the delicious feeling of 'what just happened'...
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