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Cold Calling by Russell Mardell (view source)
Revision as of 08:49, 28 April 2016
, 08:49, 28 April 2016no edit summary
Oh! ''Cold Calling'' was unexpected. It's told from the points of view of not just the cold callers Ray and Anna, but also their friends Danny and Eva. Four narrators, you might say, that sounds a bit messy and confusing. And, in a way, it is. But I think that's the clever thing about this story. Life is messy. Life is confusing. We don't always say what we mean. And as we follow Ray and Anya's friendship grow and as we watch events unfold, we see it all interrogated by four points of view. And it actually isn't confusing at all. What it is, is very, very human.
I loved the dialogue, which is full of clever one-liners and lots of dry wit. We talk like this in my family. The whole book felt very, very British. Mockery is a national pastime but it's also a national form of self defence, don't you think? And there's some great observation of the finer details of everyday life. You'll recognise people you know in ''Cold Calling'', I'm sure. Ray, who is accustomed to talking to his therapist, opens up more quickly than Anya, who battens down the hatches and compartmentalises everything the better to avoid facing up to things.
It's a romantic story but it's not really a romance. It's a story of friendship and a story of feeling isolated. It's also a story about facing up to your secrets and your past so that you are able to move on. No spoilers from me, but I thought the ending was perfectly done. Not trite, not ruthless, but real. ''Cold Calling'' felt fresh and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You can read more about Russell Mardell [[:Category:Russell Mardell|here]].
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