So Many Lives and All of Them Are Yours

by Ron Butlin

From the author of the award winning The Sound of My VoiceAfter being sacked from his day job as a business executive, Morris Magellan has cashed it all in – the house, the car, family life – to be free at last to pursue his true music. He returns to his childhood home to escape city life, face his demons and compose his masterpiece. Very soon, things start to go wrong. Not only does his past catch up with him, but the future becomes more threatening by the day. Bad habits return with a vengeance. Then he meets Jess.

Written with humour and compassion, this compelling novel, set in the Borders, sixties London and present-day Edinburgh, touches on music, love in later life and, most of all, how to make the most of one's time before it is too late.

164 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 7, 2023

About the author

With a reputation as an international prize-winning novelist, Ron Butlin has also been Edinburgh's Poet-Laureate.
Before becoming a writer he was a lyricist with a pop band, a footman attending embassy receptions and weekend house parties, a barnacle-scraper on the Thames and a male model.
He has published almost twenty books including novels, short stories, and poetry as well a novel and an illustrated book of verse for children.
His work has been widely translated and twice been awarded a Best Foreign Novel prize. His most recent novel, Ghost Moon, was nominated for the highly prestigious international IMPAC Award 2016. Ron has 3 new books coming out in 2017. See his Goodreads blog for details.

Reviews

[TawfReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Noreen Mcgrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly moving piece of work. I became totally immersed in the story and couldn’t put it down. The author illustrates his character and his highs and lows in such a powerful way one can almost feel that grinding failure, turning to a fragile hope of change before crashing back down again. Ron Butlin is a poet and this is evident in the style of writing and intensity of the character he has drawn here