Displacement

by Derek Turner

Martin Hacklett is at the bottom of London’s pile - working-class and white, poor and uneducated, ignored and alienated.

But he is bright and an athlete, and at nights becomes the London Leaper, free-running the capital’s roofline in defiance of death, seeking escape from a culture that doesn’t care for him or his kind.

As he charges fiercely across the iconic skyline of what should be his city, he becomes a focus of fascination and fear, and troubles the sleep and conscience of the unquiet metropolis.

But underneath his night-time persona, is a young man desperate to be accepted.

Can Martin find a way to integrate himself and his passion back into society?

Or will he always be separate and alone, a shadowy figure displaced to the outskirts…?

In ‘Displacement’ ancient and modern London clash and combine in a poetry of perilous motion. It is a thought-provoking look at sanctuaries we choose to help us cope with our individual situations, and a poignant examination of how those sanctuaries are too often thwarted by our own efforts.

“A novel that engages in a non-stereotype manner to face fairly the issues of Britain’s white working class” - Rt. Hon. Frank Field, MP

“Powerfully and memorably evokes a threatened subculture in a rapidly altering London, as the Cockney is pushed to the edges of English life” - Garry Bushell, journalist

“A highly atmospheric evocation of twenty-first century alienation” - Chilton Williamson, Jr., novelist and editor of Chronicles - A Magazine of American Culture

Derek Turner has written for The Times, Daily Mail, Sunday Telegraph, Literary Review, Country Life, and many other journals in Europe and America. He is also the author of the novel Sea Changes. You can see more about Derek

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120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 23, 2015

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Displacement is a fantastic read. One can't put it down. The downtrodden poor, white residents of east London draw you into their dismal lives as they are beset with mod and foreign outsiders who have taken over their old haunts and laid waste to their habits and traditions. The young hero of this tale breaks out of the grim world about him at night in a secret odyssey above the piles and spires of London. This is a thrilling and moving story that you'll keep thinking about after you've finished reading it. Highly recommended.

[Andrea Knott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise

I liked this story well enough to buy the author's other book: A Modern Journey. Books like this tend to sit with me long afterwards, as they really have a lot to say to us about society and the world we live in. Of course, the story could have been better, thus the three star rating, but the idea behind the story is five star all the way.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The disintegration of modern England is reflected in one outsiders quest to break away. Running over the rooftops of London in a solitary, death defying quest to forget the world below. Or rule it. Fast paced, exciting read. Nice use of language. Turner's strong suit. Brilliant imagery.

[Gomery Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Turner is a national treasure. Be sure to read every book he writes.

[Anna McCormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parcour par excellence

What happens when a down-under agile Londoner meets the heady heights of parcour? This novella happens. Some excellent writing and a poignant story.