None of This Ever Really Happened by Peter Ferry
| None of This Ever Really Happened by Peter Ferry | |
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| Category: Literary Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: An engaging book that explores the blurred lines between fact and fiction. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 304 | Date: August 2009 |
| Publisher: Vintage | |
| ISBN: 978-0099516484 | |
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Peter Ferry is driving home one evening when he sees a woman driving erratically. He follows her cautiously, captivated by her beauty and concerned for her safety, and then at a stop light is torn as to whether to get out and try to stop her driving any further. Before he can do anything, however, her car has lurched forward and crashes into a tree, killing her. This is the story that Peter, an English teacher, tells his pupils. Yet is it a story, or did it really happen? Or did some of it happen and some of it he made up? And is the Peter Ferry of the story, a teacher and travel writer, the same as Peter Ferry, the author of the book who is also, funnily enough, a teacher and travel writer?
This Peter, whoever he is, finds himself tormented by Lisa Kim's death, and after being mistaken for her boyfriend at her funeral he increasingly spends his time trying to find out more about her which, in turn, leads him deeper into the mystery surrounding her death. As he becomes lost in the stories of Lisa's life he fails to see the disintegration of his relationship with his partner, Lydia, and so the mystery of Lisa's death unfolds amidst a discussion of love and grief, and truth and fiction, all shaken up together with a few odd segments of travel writing thrown in.
This whole question of what is fact and what is fiction leaves your mind reeling if you start to think about it too much. The story strays across time lines, and so when flashes of Peter Ferry the teacher appear, as he speaks to his students and is seemingly telling them this 'story' about Lisa Kim it jolts you, as a reader, into wondering once again about the line between reality and imagination. Perhaps the whole book is an exercise in, or a display of creative writing, with the author looking at the creation of a mystery, of convincing interacting characters as well as a discussion of the process of storytelling. The book isn't horribly heavy though, so don't be put off by this discursive quality, and it becomes a real page-turner (although I personally felt that the final denouement was disappointing). I was intrigued by the whole Lisa Kim mystery, and raced towards the end to see how it all played out.
It is a little strange to find segments of travel writing (apparently some are previously published items by the real Peter Ferry) thrown into the fray here and there throughout the book, yet I found that they were still interesting interludes. They didn't particularly add any value to the Lisa Kim storyline, but they didn't detract from it either, and further displayed Peter Ferry's writing skills, though once again it grows confusing when you start to think about whether it was the real Peter, or the fictional Peter, who wrote them...
I found this book very easy to read, and strangely compelling. Peter's determination to uncover the truth of Lisa's death is infectious, and although you're aware as a reader that you're being manipulated, toyed with, you cannot help but want to know the truth, or at least the fabricated truth, too. A great book for a weekend escape, and an interesting debut from an obviously talented writer.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
For another book that looks at the nature of storytelling you might enjoy A Partisan's Daughter by Louis de Bernieres.
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You can read more book reviews or buy None of This Ever Really Happened by Peter Ferry at Amazon.com.
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