Books People Read

Books People Read is a revision of Nick Ashton-Jones’ third novel, written around the turn of the millennium. It is set a couple of decades earlier and takes place somewhere that is like Papua New Guinea and somewhere that is indisputably middle-class southwest London. The prime characters, David and Sally, are neo-colonial misfits in PNG but unquestionably the types who transformed the dreary Victorian suburbs defined by the Fulham into one of the most fashionable parts of inner Thatcherite London. Nonetheless, it is the South Pacific that defines them, exposing the brutal truth about their vacuous English existence.

“This evocative story follows the stripping away, layer by layer, of the facade of a seemingly perfect marriage. David and Sally appear to be an ideally matched couple. David’s work has taken them to New Sudan where they lead the colonial life whilst waiting for his promotion which will return them to London.

“In New Sudan they each explore their own sexuality in a way which has consequences for the rest of their lives when they do return. They return to London with a son, Harry, the result of Sally’s liaison with a local man, but adopted as his own by David. They have two daughters, Alice and Sonia, both legitimate. Outwardly a happy family, but the past will not be denied its role in gradually destroying any feeling they may have for each other as restlessness takes over their lives.

“This is a powerful narrative on the way actions taken by individuals, enthralled by self-fulfilment, can have far reaching effects on those apparently closest to them.”

Available from Parker Street Publications. Contact NICK ASHTON-JONES