An explorative account of life, love and loss forms the basis for Lauren John Joseph’s At Certain Points We Touch. Setting out to write about a past relationship, the story is formed by the narrator looking back at past experiences involving a love interest – Thomas James, who has since passed away. As the protagonist commits much of their experiences to the page, there’s a sense that we are reading their personal diary with such intimate, graphic details of their love affairs.
It is clear that the nostalgic nature of reliving certain events proves to be a painful experience for the narrator, and highlights the complicated relationship between both characters. The exquisite prose conveys the emotion of each scene with profound detail and really infiltrates the reader, on a journey that spans different cities including London, San Francisco and New York.
Capturing the essence of love and loss, this is a tragic, haunting and expertly crafted debut, and I’m intrigued to find out what journey the novelist is preparing for the reader next.
At Certain Points We Touch, Lauren John Joseph (Bloomsbury)
Price: £13.49/£10.49 Ebook. Info: here
words RHIANON HOLLEY
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