1920

by Stephen Faulds

Five characters whose paths converge during the Pandemic, each seeking meaning and purpose through restrictions, lockdowns and paranoia. A narrative structure similar to Thornton Wilder’s Bridge of San Luis Rey, creating a single gestalt of five destinies.
Sienna Forrester 27 travelling in India, meets each of the other four protagonists, their back story is told in past tense and then they join her in the main narrative in present tense.
Sienna meets Christine Barclay 23 a volunteer at a World Vision project in Kanpur.
Sienna returns to Australia at the beginning of the pandemic, travelling to Margaret River and Broome. Christine is stranded in Delhi by the March lockdown.
Bryce Adams 58 a former Greenpeace activist now a political press secretary who has travelled through Europe.
In Broome, Sienna meets Luke Wilson 60 an itinerant who studies conspiracy theories.
Sienna and Luke both meet Bryce in Broome.
Sienna’s father has terminal cancer. She meets Jeremy Oakwood 42 a Radiologist.
Jeremy attends a Buddhist retreat in Thailand, returns home to his wife and children and travels to Kalbarri.
All five characters are dealing with depression.
The five meet at a beach in Perth where they exchange share their personal views on the impact of the pandemic.
The narrative concludes with an epilogue.

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2022

About the author

Stephen Faulds is an English teacher with many years experience teaching both English and Drama. He has self-published fourteen novels and one non-fiction title as ebooks. He has written many short scripts, which have been performed by students at both primary and secondary level. His play 'Seatown' was performed at The Blue Room theatre in 2007 and has been published by The Australian Script Centre. He has a web site featuring his writing, photography and artwork, which is archived at the State Library of WA.