This is an alternate-cover edition for ASIN B006AXFPEM.
Literary fiction novella.
Jaded war photographer Emma Saywell wanders through the dappled beauty of London's Kew Gardens, 'Broken', her hack-about old Nikon, hanging around her neck.
Her second book, 'THE EYES OF WAR', is selling well. Yet after a decade looking into hollow eyes, capturing men at their worst, her personal focus is a micron out.
She watches a woman with two young girls. One, the younger, trips, falls, screws up her tiny face, crys silently. Then she sees him. 'Broken' glides to her eye in one instinctive movement.
Click, click. Nailed him. Click.
Why is he smiling so inanely? Why smile like that, selling ice-cream to tourists from a cafe with a few tables? And what's with all the glancing at the sky?'
She looks up herself, half expecting to see an American drone stooging around. Nothing but fat dreamliners heading for Heathrow. She's drawn to the ice-cream seller, has to find out...
So there you are, the three of you, your GF snatches your phone and hurls it into the Thames and says you've leaving London, the three of you. Is she mad? Or just being all wild-eyed Welsh? I mean, like, huh? You know how it is: do-you-don't-you, will-you-won't-you? As for that cat-face of hers - what's that about?
I started writing In The Room With Three Doors when I was about to leave a company I'd been with for 25 years. I finished the story three months later. The three characters in the story are all 25. Not that I want to be 25 again - too tough now. Still, I did get to thinking. With a will and a slice of luck, even in tough times inspiring outcomes do still happen.
You will find an audio sample of the story to whet your appetite, narrated by myself, which I hope you will enjoy - so much so that you will have to read or listen to the full story. Not that it will detain you long, being a novella, my favourite literary form, boasting the immediacy of short story that knows it's something more. All yours.
THREE READER REVIEWS of IN THE ROOM WITH THREE DOORS
"The story-line is quietly captivating and primarily focuses upon the lives of three main characters Rhi, Matt and Jamie in the wake of a tragic (cycling accident) on the busy streets of central London. Thereafter, it is impossible to anticipate or pre-empt the direction, pace and flow of what is essentially a wonderful journey from the cold grey buzz of the nation's capital, to that of somewhere tucked away deep in rural Hampshire." - UK Kindle reader, verified purchaser.
"The story has 'Inception' undertones and will make you wonder why we take everything so seriously. Diving deep into the fleeting reality of these free souls will leave your mind twisting and turning. Give this book a listen." - US audio-book listener and print book verified purchaser.
"A beautiful, and non-judgemental, tale of polyamory told in RJ Askew's distinctive style. He uses the English language like an instrument, rolling and twisting the words, reminiscent of song lyrics. In fact, as well as referring to Fleetwood Mac (the heroine is called Rhiannon), Askew appears to borrow lyrical phrases from both Marillion and Status Quo. This just adds to the charm of the story, with Welsh witch Rhiannon deciding when her twin dies that she will now have to love for two. Although short, the novella packs in plenty of humour (dippy hippies making hard-headed business decisions), surprises (losers turn their lives round) and supernatural references. Something for everyone here." - UK print book reader, verified purchaser.
Reading this book caused quite a stir in my little cottage. The squirrels in the ceiling congregated en masse above my headspace, peered down dim lit cracks wondering what had caught my attention, what was feeding my...calm.
So pleased fate handed me Askew to tell me stories of the 'blue sky'...
An epoch between late night literary obsessions, R.J. Askew's Watching Swifts seemed to steal my life in real time, a perfect distraction.
Pulled by his 'creator's strings', R.J is an author handed a pass to lucidity, poetry pure and like our hero Leonardo, he seems to 'know more about you than you do?' - reading the reader, the sweetest manipulator. But not in a derogatory sense. How can you feel contempt for an author who leads you, who caresses, who shakes you up - true gift, strike that, reverse it.
The poetry between prose - for fear of reciting back the whole book - is breathtaking. Where other readers may find it distracting, these poetic interludes, randomly invading chapters is what I craved the most, soaring and insightful, eyes pricked waiting - rimmed from another place.
The evocative backdrop set in Kew Gardens conjured for me images of Voltaire's Dialogue Between Philosopher & Nature but I can be guilty of reading too much into things. It's grounds, nooks and crannies lends itself beautifully to expose the prose. It's ice cream, creperies, gift shops, tourists, Monkey Puzzles and swifts is simply a real and sensual background to draw on the characters of Emma Saywell, who has 'smelt the death, full mental survival instincts' of her lens' subjects as a war photographer, Luigi the Milanese wannabe lothario, lovers Billy and Isabelle, and my favourite of favourite's, the acerbic, venom spitting, verbal volleying Parker - their tongue duals a delicious voyeuristic encounter - en garde.
There are other catalysts, liaisons and interactions all leading Leonardo onwards. His life is a poem, attempting to understand his purpose, how he got to where he is, acquiring an acceptance of it and the big, silent unanswerables. Painting such a positive image of this tome is only possible because a darkness lurks, but that is the dichotomy and one cannot exist without the other.
Playful play on words, philosophical meanderings, this book never leaves it's centre. I smirked and giggled, I cried tears happy and sad, R.J. Askew tapped me on the shoulder and stimulated my 'minds eye green' and I'm in awe of his gift.
'I'm the air cut through me. Thrust, turn. Catch a breeze.'
And the swifts...'Just look at that sky! Blue, blue, blue-by-blue, airblue, untouchable, blue cubed, see-through-blue, swift-sky blue. Imagine being born to that!'
Literature is a diverse field, blossoming with the flowers of wildly divergent creators. In Watching Swifts, by R.J. Askew, the reader is given a rare bloom; something both tough and beautiful.
This was my first read on my iPad and it proved a worthy initiation for that device. I found myself drawn into the narrative by the contrasts. This is the story of one man’s life as it collides with a stranger in a public place and finds an unexpected outlet. Tom is anything but an ordinary guy; his confidant is a burnt out war photographer publishing a book of her pictures from war zones. Their initial contact flows from their visual appreciation of the world: she takes photographs; he draws. And he draws her as she sits at a table in Kew as he serves tourists with ice cream.
We learn, in broken passages, the story of his extraordinary life and we’re presented with ideas of what it is to live outside normal society. There is much stream of consciousness, delivered in a gritty, realistic style but interspersed with the language of a modern day Shakespeare. The short pieces of poetry, spoken by the man for the woman’s benefit, hint at a growing love; a love both deep and likely to be unfulfilled. The swifts of the title are those magical birds that live on the wing, landing only to nest. And they are Tom’s obsession. But the narrative uses them as metaphors, as carriers of deep emotion, as symbols of the soaring wants of ordinary people. They are also, tragically, potential victims of those without the soul to see their life song.
Emma introduces and ends the story; a romance, a tragedy, a biography, a parable. But it is Tom whose voice we hear most of the time. An enigma at the start, he develops into someone complex, honest, vital, real. And Parker, well, we all have to bear a Parker in our lives, unfortunately. Though this one has more depth than most.
This is literary fiction at its best. Accessible yet full of analogy, metaphor, symbol and subsurface meaning. Unusually for a contemporary example of the genre, there is an actual story and the people are as real as your brother, mother, girlfriend, dad.
There is death here; life, love, passion, hatred, violence, Nature at her best and worst, humour, compassion and perhaps a touch of madness. This is a story that lives on the page and delves under the reader’s skin to tell its tale. I cannot think of a comparable work, but if you enjoy fiction that lives, characters who are real and have real problems to solve and real lives to lead, and superb, flowing, apposite language, then you’ll love this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and recommend it without reservation.
Watching Swifts is one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read simply because of the way the story progresses. An ongoing monologue from the central character, the story is a slow but steady evolution of the man himself. I’ve never read anything like it; in its own way, it’s truly unique because I believe this method of character development is a one-of-a-kind. The book starts in Emma’s POV, a war photographer and deals with a rather chance meeting with Leonardo, an ice cream vendor who is so much more than a seller of vanilla to the tourists in Kew Gardens. The majority of the book is a monologue as mentioned before and at first, I admit to some initial confusion. I couldn’t seem to connect with Leo, could only recognize the talent of an author who managed to plot a story in this way and yet, keep me engaged. Once I made the connection, about 10% of the way in –so if you’re like me, you must persevere-, I slowly fell in love with the tone, the cheekiness, the arguments with Mr. Parker, a rather mean park keeper, as well as the insights into a couple who are engaging in an illicit affair and Luigi, the peeping Tom who gets his kicks from sneaking peeks at the unsuspecting couple. The way the author engages you, is actually very clever. You start to see the pettiness of life, the inanities that Leo comments on and through it all, the passing of nature in his love of swifts. Their migratory patterns will long outlast our petty and small existences. There are snippets of poetry within the novella and very good they are too, but the story is much more than that. It’s thought-provoking and unnerving. You sense Mr. Parker’s agitation with Leo and the latter’s need to bite back. The yearning in Isabel to be a part of an affair, to simple feel something; a city exec’s troubled marriage and the dog who doesn’t like his self-obsessed owner. This is the kind of book that makes me glad self-publishing exists, because it’s unusual and sometimes, the traditional publishers don’t appreciate that. Especially with first time authors. It’s a book that twists and turns and trundles along, describing life and the world that revolves around us in a unique way. And at the same time, it’s tongue in cheek, humorous, honest and very, very real. It makes you want to stop, stand back and study people the way Leo does. Attain the same insights into human nature that he does. It reminds you of the fast pace of life and tells you that there is another way. The synopsis doesn’t give you a clue as to how the story will occur. I read it, expecting it to follow a certain pattern. Expected to read a romance novel, something which intrigued me simply because the author is a man and I’ve never actually read a romance by a man! But, that being said, it didn’t follow that pattern at all and what I proceeded to read was a rather clever study of the human race in all its glory and all its pettiness. I read the opposite of a Happy Ever After in a way. A love that is perfect, but that will never be allowed to be blossom and then, ultimately, die. It will remain as a bud, forever frozen. Beautiful in its own way without the sureness of death. Let me say that if you don’t know what a swift is, then look it up. And by the end of it, expect to want to visit Kew Gardens. If you do, and if you happen to have this novella on your Kindle, then you’ll have a corker of a day. This is no trite throw-away romance novel, but a serious character development of a man, who is at the centre of the story and whose own tale is cloaked within his observations. Expect to be shocked, amused, concerned and through it all, congratulate the author for taking you through the emotional wringer! Especially at the end, the prologue and epilogue are in Emma’s POV and if your eyes don’t feel slightly moist, then there’s no hope for you!
Watching Swifts is a compact but rewarding read, charting an odd friendship between a war photographer (Emma Saywell) and an ice cream seller (Tom, but more usually Leonardo) in Kew Gardens from May to the end of July. Leonardo has chosen to disengage from many aspects of the modern world, preferring to sell ice cream and watching swifts soar through blue skies. She photographs him, and he sketches her, using his "rescue pencils" which he finds lying around all over London.
As the swift summer progresses, the reader gets to know Leonardo pretty well. A tragic past is painted in broad strokes which are all the more haunting for their lack of precision. Most of the book is told through Leonardo's stream of consciousness speech, bookended by a prologue and epilogue from Emma. The language is rich, poetic and playful.
Playful is also a word that could describe the swifts themselves, who come alive through Leonardo's speech, flying for the sheer fun of it and mating on the wing. And author R.J. Askew has some occasional sly fun of his own, with comments such as Emma feeling "like a character in an allegorical novella." There are also occasional brief moments where Leonardo appears to become aware of the author trying to control his train of thought, and resists this.
Leonardo's account of himself is interspersed with fragments of poetry and encounters with the people who frequent this corner of Kew Gardens. The apparently throwaway conversations and observations of the park's inhabitants gradually come together in a little story that you don't quite notice until its final act.
As the swift summer comes to an end, Emma has found a new balance in her life, and Leonardo has found a space in the world for himself again.
This is the story of an ice cream kiosk worker (Leo) and a war photographer (Emma) who happen to meet in the park at the beginning of the summer. Emma keeps going back to the ice cream stall throughout the summer and speaks to Leo during his breaks. Leo is the main character and the story is followed through his side of the dialogue. He is a very reflective person and often loses himself in exquisites monologues, usually a reflection on something he has seen, such as the swifts.
For me the story wasn’t just what was written but how it was written, the style of writing in this book is beautiful and very poetic. It portrays a lot more emotion through the style of writing than the writing itself does and without that emotion Leo would have been half the man that he appears to be.
As the story progresses you find out more and more, a little at a time, about Leo. You find out later on why the Park Keeper doesn’t like him and the reason for this really got me thinking. By the end of the book I had a very strong sense of how judgemental we can be as people and also how wrong we can be.
This book is a must read! Do not be put off by any poetry references as this book is not a poem. I do not read poetry myself but I loved this story, it is fabulous.
I read most of Ron Askew’s book on my Kindle, sitting in the courtyard of our home here in the French Pyrenees, with swifts zooming and screaming around the house – there seem to have been more of these amazing aeronauts around this year than ever.
The book is a poetic tour de force. There is plenty of verse breaking up the narrative, but the prose itself is of a poetic bent. Excellent use of words and rhythm.
Most of those words issue from the mouth of one person, but they reveal plenty about his relationship with his listener, also with characters from his troubled past and his current life. We learn about the people he works with and their relationships, about others more tangential but who impact on his soul and his and interests. We learn about the birds he loves. We see into his heart and those of the people around him.
We wonder, or at least I do, where stuff like this comes from, to land in an author’s mind. But we admire the product greatly and we look forward to Ron’s next voyage into print.
"Watching Swifts" will lure you into the magical world of poetic literature. When passionate poetry and captivating prose interweave in such a way that evoke your most beautiful inner emotions and help you escape reality, then this is a "must-read" book. While Emma Saywell, his main character, captures images on her camera, R.J. Askew’s book promises to captivate your heart AND soul.
One Swift Summer by RJ Askew is a story rich in observation and reflection set in Kew Gardens in London.
There’s a mixture of creative writing drifting into poetry. From Emma the photographer:
‘Hope was a frailty I’d always scorned. Such was my weary view of how we can be, until I met Leonardo, my Swift man, real name Tom, greenest of eyes. I tell stories with my lens, don’t get involved, never become the story, objective, detached, follow the rules, stay alive. Get the picture. Get paid.’
A description of the evil Parker:
‘I treasure Parker. His ugliness makes the beautiful things around her seem the more…beautiful. I also pity him. Does he see that hundred-year-old wisteria in full bloom? Luminous with living colour of the softest lilac. Does he notice that humble bee a-buzzing by? No. All he sees is imperfection, disorder, chaos, everything but how own petty puritanism, the greatest imperfection of all.’
About himself:
‘And so I became a cliché, selling ice cream in Kew Gardens. Maybe fate planted me here to draw your sadness.’
And how he sees the world:
‘Shall we see the world as we sit, look around, relax, look, look, look, disengage our intellects, perceive nature, our common sense. We, being external to it, must melt with it to experience its full measure.’
If you love poetry and enjoy overserving the natural order of life – you will appreciate One Swift Summer. Slow reading is recommended.
One Swift Summer is an explosion of emotions, like fireworks full of arrs and oohs, all delicately placed in the peace and calm of a swift-graced garden. The setting is idyllic, the characters few and the prose unforgettable. Opening and closing from Emma’s point of view, the rest is a poetical internal monologue that became impossible to put down. Tom dissects his character over several chats with photographer Emma. She watches life in small squares of still life, while he ravishes life with gusto and Technicolor reality. I have a masters in pain, he says, and enough material for 10 Ph.Ds. This is an intelligent affair of minds, where love is real and larger than life. Tom has climbed out of the womb of hatred, he has swam upstream determined and dedicated to finding the exit. Amazingly, he is drawn to the birds that fly over the park’s little coffee shop. Swifts with all their grace and freedom. This is a unique, standalone romance with a difference. At first I was confused by the prose, then all of a sudden I fell into the words and reading became as easy as breathing. I was hooked line and sinker, all I can say is that I sincerely hope that we will receive more books from AK Askew! Highly recommended.
A True Work of Poetic Art I bought the Kindle version of this novel and it was a bargain at just $2.99. The story grabbed my attention from the very start. I was reading it at every opportunity from the Kindle app on my phone and I truly found it hard to break away from the story to get back to my life. I thought the main character of Emma was intriguing. At first I had a hard time with the sentence structure as she spoke it seemed a bit broken up. But as I read on I got the impression that Emma is just a no nonsense kind of girl who says just exactly what she means in a very concise manner. His character Leonardo seemed to know a little about everything and seemed to be more of a poet at heart. As I read each page after another the author clearly painted the scenes in my mind with his beautiful poetic writing. I could plainly see it as if I was there myself. As a poet I truly understand just how hard it is to use your words to paint such a vivid picture. But the author R. J. Askew is extremely talented and displays the skill of a seasoned master poet. I truly loved the way he chose to entwine both poems and poetic prose in this book. Masterfully done, brilliantly conceived and executed. Awesome writing! It is written so well that you get sucked right into the world his characters inhabit. You start to see the darkness of their past and even start to wish you could fly with the swifts who also seem to play a vital character as we watch as they live their cycle of life in this tiny small part of Kew Gardens. R. J. Askew as any great poet and author will do, takes the reader through a broad range of emotions. I found this book was brilliant and deeply moving. A job well done. I loved the journey you took me on as I read this book. I highly recommend it but you have been warned that you may find it hard to put down once you begin reading it. Charles Johnson~ Author of “Love Poems and More From the Heart and Soul of Man”
Poetic literature at its best. It's a long time since I've enjoyed such quality of writing.
Yes, I believe I, too, have met people with savant insight - and some who think they have.
How true, one must always be a question - or stop living. Beautiful, natural feelings. Real feelings in the alien bustling world of London. Finding escape in the swifts and the sky.
The woman at the Dell altar - I love that; and the killing humour of the Parker exchanges. What skilled portrayal of character and penetrating powers of observation. This book touches several chords in me.
Birds are so free. And Ronaldo so content, watching, and sketching, and appreciating, 'opening his soul to the rule of beauty.'
Poor young Ronaldo - being trapped in sex and not discovering the sublimity of love. So many people are like him. But then he learns how to stand aside and watch, and fly with the swifts.
And Parker's small-minded, inward turning prickles of hate. Then back to earth with a hateful bump and a dead dog, slaughtered with a kick.
Peaceful, inward chatter. Yes, 'the primal antithesis of war in a man's soul, an estate which may only be reached.. by womankind.' - I wish. A deep thought. There are many kinds of warring.
Then the story goes all introverted. Less attractive, that. 'He never cares about anyone apart from himself, and that person he loves very much.'
This book is a tonic. The poetic prose is a delight to dip into, the writing a reflection on life as it occurs to the author, and life is a series of happenings, seemingly haphazard.
The swifts, 'Silver needles threading the sky.'
'Just a little blade of silence thrust carefully into his craven conscience.'
- what a way with words!.
And an excellent finale, which leaves me breathless with admiration. There are tears in my eyes.
Review Watching Swifts by R.J. Askew This book is one of those that keeps popping back in your mind. Prose and verse, or verse written as prose entwined with verse. I was drawn into the mind and world of the swift man. This author has the rare ability to capture his reader with a form of prose which keeps you wanting more. I had to know what happened with him, his antagonist (the female photographer he’s talking to) and the swifts. Yes, the swifts, those lovely birds, the harbingers of summer and hope for better times. When things ended different from any ‘regular’ novel would I was actually glad. I felt happy for the swift man, the swift, and the gardener, I felt sorry for the photographer who inadvertently lost her chance of life anew. Or had she? The form this novel is written in allows for a play in the head of the reader. It is narration and little dialogue and yet, you can imagine the dialogue that is there nonetheless. A monologue and yet it is not, for he isn’t there alone on stage, on the pages, the other characters are there too. Flesh and bone, you care for them, you loath and turn to feel sorry for them. Or even cheer them on. The language this author uses has a rhyme and a rhythm to it which almost at times feels archaic, yet very now. It is a book that touched me. It shows feelings, inner turmoil and resolution to be more than one thinks one can ever be. This book is isn’t one to read swift, but to cherish and reread passages, sentences, for they seem to be unlocking emotions and thoughts on a level not many modern day novels do.
Emma meets Leonardo in Kew Gardens, where he sells ice-cream. She photographs him, he draws her, and through their pictures they each manage to capture the other for who they really are, forging a lasting connection. Throughout the summer they become increasingly reliant on their meetings, as Leonardo relates his life story to Emma. Watching Swifts is a beautifully written, nostalgic tale of a summer in Kew Gardens. The text is immersive from the beginning and the novella casts a spell over the reader as the writer weaves in the imagery of the swifts and the plants of Kew Gardens, with the philosophical musings of the narrator. The novella is full of observant vignettes about the other occupants of the Garden: Parker, an infuriating jobsworth who wants the bins moved to the other side of the fence and the swifts removed from the park; The Professor – a lovelorn soul who sits every day in the cafe, scribbling away in the corner; and Billy the head ice-cream man who embarks on a passionate but doomed affair with the flighty Isabel. Leonardo is a narrator who sees the world, sees people for who they really are, and describes the characters around him with sensitivity and compassion. This book stays with you after you put it down. If you want a philosophical, thoughtful read, this is a novella for you.
This book tells the story of a relationship which takes place over a few summer months. A woman who is a war photographer meets a man selling ice-cream in Kew Gardens and he starts to draw her. Over the months she returns and he continues. As he draws, he talks, initially about the swifts he constantly watches. Most of the book is his words and a scattering of poems as his own life story comes out. He also tell us about some of the other workers and some of the visitors.
If you love creative language you will warm to this book very quickly. Tom, known to his fellow workers as Leonardo because of his drawings, gradually lets his own story come through and we see how he has coped with a life full of problems. He has become a rounded person unlike some of those he tells us about. The gardener, Parker, an angry and dissatisfied person, finds an equilibrium in a surprising manner.
There are real depths to ponder here; redemption after disastrous failings; the difference between 'real' and 'perfect' love, for example. It is a book that will stay with me and I loved reading it. It's one of those you don't want to finish.
'I'd write about swifts, a year watching swifts, or ice-cream' :-)
What a lovely, thought provoking book. The prose is simply beautiful!
This book takes place over the summer, Emma who is a war photgrapher spends time with Leonardo (Tom) who sells ice cream in Kew garden.
I found myself instantly interested in Leo, his life story is really interesting and I loved him, despite his faults which are quite disguting but the style of writing doesn't make you linger on this, you can't help but like Leo as a character.
This book was written with precise sentences that instantly draws you into their world. I wouldn't usually read a book like this but I'm so glad I have. Leo's story will stay with me for a long time yet.
R.J Askew you have created such a lovely book and I think you should now take a *bow* :-)
Finally reading this book as it is intended to be read: on Kindle. I have started reading Watching Swifts before, in a draft version. What is drawing me towards this book? R.J. Askew's amazing choice of vocabulary!
This is one of those books I will read over and over again. As I started reading it, I instantly was captivated by the beginning: 'I shot him'... Well that got me off on the wrong foot! R.J. Askew's book is full of surprises, written from the perspective of a woman, by a man ... R.J. Askew certainly is a very poetic feminist... Which makes that I frequently read a few pages, because I do not want the book to end. I just do not want to read it all at once, for then the letters just might have vanished because I read it to ... quickly ...
This is a beautiful, poetic story like nothing I’ve read before.
It took a little bit of getting used to the style of writing. Incredibly poetic! But, once I got used to that, it flowed. There is a wonderful story there that carries you away.
It is interspersed with poems. One of which I loved! It starts:
I am your child who’s just been born
You hold me true in loving hands
I am your love’s embodiment
You love me more than love itself
It goes on from there but you’ll have to buy the book to read the rest! I wouldn’t want to give anything away.
What I will say is that I believe every woman has a “Swift Man”. You’ll understand once you’ve read it!
I honestly preferred reading Watching Swifts to staying in with a Bridget Jones DVD and a box of chocolates. It is a beautiful love story in the quintessentially English setting of Kew Gardens. Leo, or Tom, has been through hell. Despite his guilt and darkness, he has remodelled himself into a decent person. Emma has fought her own demons. This tale had many sweet moments but also the capacity to shock. It brought tears to my eyes. I was glad the baby birds were saved.
R.J. Askew has a very visual and alliterative writing style. The English Dylan Thomas, perhaps? Anyway, really entertaining and better than chocolate.
If there is a story here that's worth reading then the author has done their best to hide it in an effort to demonstrate their superior vocabulary and completely unorthodoxed style of communication (or non-communication as the case may be). Because it was rated so highly, I forced myself to reread the first 20% of the book and then forced myself to nearly double that depth in hopes of discovering the excellence everyone else seems to see and I completely miss. At this point, however, I feel investing any more time would be a complete and utter waste. So I am giving up and walking away hoping to find something with writing, characters and a plot I can understand, appreciate and follow.
I purchased and downloaded Watching Swifts at the request of the author who asked for a fair review via an author site. I am so glad I agreed to read his novella!
From the very first sentence, Watching Swifts will captive you. I was taken by Mr. Askew's usage of language and the visuals his words created. His characters are very well represented and portrayed. His unique mixture of poetry and prose is spellbinding. This is the most beautiful, most breathtaking little book I have ever read. I truly believe Mr. Askew has created a new literary masterpiece.
It's no surprise this book is receiving the fantastic reviews it is - this is a compelling and wonderfully written story. It's refreshing to read something original and once I started reading, after the first page I knew I was in safe hands by this author. Highly recommended and deeply moving, so fortunate to have come across the book and author.
This is the only book I've read twice apart from the classics. My first review is on Amazon (check it out with 20 other brilliant reviews). I'd also like to recommend it here. It's a luminous, delighting prose poem.
I can imagine how Kerouac's first readers felt when they discovered an entirely fresh style. Swifts breaks the mould in the same way.
To be honest I never expected to like this novella and only read it because I was asked to review it. I usually go for action packed novels, murder, explosions, that kind of thing. This is definitely none of that, but I found myself fascinated by what is essentially a monologue, observations and recollections of an ice cream seller in Kew Gardens. Beautifully written and thought provoking.
A delightful and insightful poetic Novella. The writing is not only creative but evoking. The story and poetry flows in a way that matches the title perfectly. The rhythm is that of soaring and swooping swifts. As the story unfolds and the characters grow, the pace continues effortlessly. It's one of the most relaxing books I've ever read.