A refreshingly real read from Les Zig, August Falling starts off with the line
This isn’t a love story.
and whilst it dips its toe into a tale of romance, the book is more about August’s journey to muddle through his troubled past and learn to love himself, his past and create a life he’s finally comfortable in.
I really enjoyed reading a book that discussed relationships (with others and with ourselves) from a male point of view; and though it’s only one male author’s point of view refracted through multiple male characters of his own creation, it was nice to see that we all have the same hang ups, self doubts, wants and needs.
If you can look past the pretty descriptive sexual encounters and gratuitous use of ‘the c word’ throughout, the awkward and wonky timings and revelations of the book make it worth the read. Nothing in life is perfect – people come and go, disasters happen, we lose things and people. But we also have chance encounters with just the right people at just the right moment, or days where things just fall into place. One of my favourite things about Zig’s book is that his narrative reflects the unpredictable and random timing of life. The whole story felt believable and for once I was really happy with the resolution of the main characters, not too cheesy, not too forced, but realistic and satisfying.
An enjoyable read and another great novel from Zig.
August Falling is out 1 September 2018.
ISBN: 9781925700039
Genre: Fiction
About Les Zig
Les Zig – Author of Just Another Week in Suburbia, a 2017 Must-Read Literary Novel.
Les has been telling stories since he was a kid, lying to get out of trouble. As a teenager, he worked out he could put his imagination to use telling stories, although this took a number of different forms. As he’s grown older, he’s had stories and articles published in various print and digital journals, screenplays optioned and written one whole poem.
He’s now interested in exploring the human psyche — from the fears, quirks, and neuroses that drive us, to the dynamics of how people interact and react, how the world around them influences and sometimes predetermines their choices, and who they inevitably become.
Les is the author of young adult novel Pride. Just Another Week in Suburbia is his debut adult fiction and was launched at Melbourne Writers’ Festival 2017.
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