All That’s Left to Tell caught my eye on Twitter – just a few tweets, nothing shouty but it sounded intriguing. Two people tell each other stories: one is a hostage, the other a female interrogator who visits him at night after he’s been blindfolded by his guards. These are the bare bones of Daniel Lowe’s novel which engrosses you utterly, shifting the ground beneath your feet so deftly it’s hard to believe it’s his first.
Marc has come to Pakistan against all advice from his friends and family. He’s been spotted wandering in a slum neighbourhood, wanting to know how poor Pakistanis live as he later tells the woman he comes to know as Josephine. A taxi-driver picks him up, apparently concerned about his welfare, then delivers him into the hands of kidnappers. His guards speak little English although he manages to strike up a relationship with one of them. Every evening they blindfold him before the entrance of Josephine who engages him in conversation, coaxing details about his life from him: the departure of his wife a few months before his arrival in Pakistan; the recent murder of his daughter,Claire. Disoriented and lonely, Marc’s guard begins to drop. He lets slip more information which Josephine weaves through the stories she tells him of the life Claire might have led until it becomes more real to him than his own predicament. She warns him that time is running out for them both but Marc is desperate to know how Claire’s story ends. This puzzling interrogator with her American accent and her uncanny knowledge spins stories within stories until Marc is entirely caught in her web – as are we.
It’s hard to avoid that tired old cliché ‘unputdownable’ when writing about this novel. Lowe has chosen an extraordinarily ambitious structure which draws you in, leaving you wondering how he will bring Josephine’s storytelling to a conclusion. When it does come, he pulls the rug from under your feet yet again making you reassess all that’s come before. Josephine cleverly unfolds Claire’s story for Marc, amplifying his grief and loneliness by weaving vivid word pictures from the information she gleans from him, leaving him vulnerable and unguarded in his response to her. The apparent intertwining of her own story with Claire and Marc’s further intensifies the intimacy of the strange relationship that has grown between them. The result is utterly immersive and the epilogue is a masterstroke, throwing all the cards up in the air. This is a clever subtle piece of fiction all about storytelling at which Lowe excels, neatly ending his novel with the line ‘Tell me a story’. I’m already wondering how he’s going to follow it.
What an intriguing premise – sounds like it is all about the power of storytelling.
It is, and so deftly handled. The twist in the epilogue is masterful.
I have not heard of this book previously, but you have definitely made me curious with your post. `by the review I think the author has handled the part where the kidnappers and our hero speak different languages really well.
I’m not sure I’ve seen it reviewed anywhere else although I’m sure it must have been. It’s so good – I’d like to see it get more coverage.
This sounds like a really compelling read, worthy of that ‘unputdownable’ phrase 🙂
It most certainly is, Belinda. So cleverly done and completely absorbing.
It sounds like a story to match the book cover (which I love – it looks like an eerie calm).
Lovely, isn’t it. There’s a feeling of yearning about it that reflects Marc’s longing for his daughter.
This sounds intriguing. I’m really curious.
It’s one of those books where you need to be careful not to give too much away when writing about it. Highly recommend it!
I’m not sure I would have picked this book up, based on the cover that shows for me and is the one available from my library. The cover you show made me want to read what you had to say about it – and it Does look like something I want to read now! This is the cover we get for it, and it really put me off but I’ve now added it to the TBR!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28821000-all-that-s-left-to-tell?ac=1&from_search=true
Oh dear! I see what you mean. Doesn’t do the book justice at all. I hate it when publishers get jackets so badly wrong – it’s not fair to writers or readers. I hope you enjoy it, Penny
This sounds excellent, and like Naomi and Penny I love the cover. I like two-hander plays and this sounds as near as in novel form, so I will seek it out!
Funnily enough I had thought that it would make a good film while reading it, although it could also work on stage. Hope you enjoy it.