Blog tour: Fall

Welcome to the blog tour for Fall by West Camel!

More about the book…

Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.

But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that changed their lives forever.

Evocative, thought-provoking and exquisitely written, Fall is an unforgettable story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave…

More about the author…

Born and bred in south London – and not the Somerset village with which he shares a name – West Camel worked as an editor in higher education and business before turning his attention to the arts and publishing. He has worked as a book and arts journalist, and was editor at Dalkey Archive Press, where he edited the Best European Fiction 2015 anthology, before moving to new press Orenda Books just after its launch. He currently combines his work as editorial director at Orenda with editing The Riveter magazine and #RivetingReviews for the European Literature Network.

He has also written several short scripts, which have been produced in London’s fringe theatres, and was longlisted for the Old Vic’s 12 playwrights project. His debut novel, Attend, was published in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. Follow West on Twitter @west_camel and on his website www.westcamel.net.

My thoughts…

Was it a page-turner? I found the experience of reading this book deeply immersive. The author’s writing style is mesmerizing and, while I didn’t want to rush through the pages, I definitely wanted to find some answers.

Did the book meet my expectations? This novel went above and beyond expectations. The characters and the location itself are alive. It’s the only way I can describe them, yes, alive. The unfolding of the events of the summer that changed the characters’ lives is deliciously slow and intense at the same time. And there is so much to think about… class, race, community, housing solutions… It’s an ideal read for a group discussion!

Three words to describe it. Spellbinding. Complex. Thought-provoking.

Do I like the cover? Yes, the colour and simplicity of it are stunning.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, I haven’t read the author’s debut novel, Attend, but it is now on my wish list.