Red Lights: A Novel

by Garry Crystal

A series of near-death accidents and a personal tragedy leaves a traumatized man convinced that the responsibility for his life and death is beyond his control.

A thoughtless left-turn one morning marks the beginning of a road trip to a remote, mountainous area of Norway. Before reaching his final destination, an unexpected encounter with a face from the past brings a psychological struggle where recriminations and guilt battle with an unwillingness to deal with or understand the past.

Red Lights is an exploration of death, loss, trauma, belief, non-belief and personal responsibility, and how these factors can determine the path of your life. "

There are times when I imagine what it must have been like, submerged, floating below the surface, watching the sunlight sparkle across the water above. And every time I imagine it, I sense peace, serenity. But that's perhaps a lie I tell myself, because death has never struck me as a particularly easy ride. That was the first time I almost died. It’s the only memory I have of that holiday. And yet, even now, when I'm standing next to a lake or a sea or an ocean, and no matter how cold it is, the waters always look warm to me."

"Addiction is a battle between love and hate. My therapist was right about that."

'We find ways of protecting ourselves, of shifting blame, of burying emotions until the dam bursts and the weight of guilt and regret acts as an anchor, pulling us under. And it’s at that point we make the decision, the choice, to simply give in and allow that weight to become the one thing above all that defines us.'

From the author of Leaving London and All of us with our Pointless Worries and Inconsequential Dramas This book dark, drama, philosophical, deals with themes including suicide, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, atheism ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garry Crystal's title for his collection of short stories and one scene plays aptly summarizes a dominant theme at the same time that it seems to dismiss the content as near meaningless. Most of these narratives depict the all too common scene for thirty-something people in the big city; struggles at recovery from ruined relationships, lapses into sloth, alcohol, drugs, casual, sometimes barely civil, sexual encounters and, of course, depression that blankets these scenes of urban discontent like a grey, palpable fog. For all this, I could not dismiss as dreary cliche' this highly entertaining and thought-provoking collection. It was fun to read and at some points, downright intriguing. This collection has much to offer to readers from a broad band of tastes who enjoy good story telling. Those who enjoy nuanced meaning and dark ambiguities delivered by way of succinct narration and lively dialogue, these stories are the right stuff. - Online Book Club Organization

110 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 2019

About the author

Garry Crystal is a writer living in Scotland, UK.

His short stories and articles have appeared in print and online including Expats Post, The Adirondack Review, Turnrow Journal, Roadside Fiction and Orato.

His first novel Leaving London is available on Amazon. His first collection of short stories All of Us With Our Pointless Worries and Inconsequential Dramas is available now on Amazon.