An injured young sportsman wakes up find that he can see only in black and white.
A desperate old widower takes too many pills and believes that two angels have arrived to usher him through purgatory.
Two agoraphobic men called Dave share the symptoms of a brain tumour, and frequently waken their neighbour with their ongoing rows.
Separate lives, running in parallel, destined to collide and then explode.
Like the suicide bomber, riding the Circle Line, day after day, waiting for the right time to detonate, waiting for answers to his questions: Am I God? Am I dead? Will I blow up this train?
Shocking, intensely emotive and wildly original, Will Carver’s The Daves Next Door is an explosive existential thriller and a piercing examination of what it means to be human … or not.
Where does one even begin trying to review a Will Carver book?
To date, my only other experience of Will’s writing style was Nothing Important Happened Today, which left me thinking WTF.
The Daves next Door has probably left me thinking more so.
The delivery of the narrative is very staccato and punchy, reminiscent to me of a ‘Denis Leary’ monologue in its relentlessness, and at times controversiality. I believe someone described it as like being constantly poked with a stick, and that’s a great analogy.
The book revolves around five main characters, all very different and all dealing with their own bizarre ‘life’ stories. These individual stories finally culminating in a clever, tying together through the God/terrorist/ narrator character.
Others have far more eloquently outlined the finer details of the story, and the individuals involved than I could ever imagine doing. Suffice to say, I think this is one of the more memorable books I have read.
It’s strangely captivating in a challenging way. There is nothing conventional about this author’s writing, and he constantly challenges the reader to answer questions in their own mind as they go along – particularly with this one, on prejudice and how quick we are to make snap assumptions.
One character that I could particularly relate to, and to an extent empathise with, was that of Vashti, the disillusioned and uncaring nurse. Having recently been unfortunate enough to have been a guest of the NHS, I saw Vashti’s every day, perfunctorily going about their business, with seemingly little recollection of why they chose that profession – or maybe that’s me being judgmental – see….
The Daves Next Door is another mind bender from Will Carver that pushes boundaries and I’m sure will be once again divisive. Yes, it’s unusual and quite chaotic, but this is what also makes it even more engaging.
I will certainly be catching up with the other Carver novels and urge anyone to do the same.
Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series.
He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off.
He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company.
He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children.
His previous title Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize, while Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.
Twitter @will_carver
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