Seventy-year-old Will Johnstone dozes off one afternoon, half a glass of red wine beside him. He wakes in 1962 crouched beside a railway line, in his twelve-year-old body. Will finds unexpected friends and becomes involved in Cold War events
Size: 581 KB (111,205 words)
Genre: Fiction
Sex Contents: Minimal Sex
Tags: mt/ft, Teenagers, Consensual, Heterosexual, Fiction, Mystery, DoOver
Review by Ryan Sylander [other reviews by Ryan Sylander]
Reviewed:
The do-over is a favorite genre for authors and readers alike, especially on StoriesOnline, but although a number of great stories of this type exist here, that doesn’t mean the theme is played out. Indeed, this debut book by Iskander proves that there are still tales to tell within this structure. The first scene is not lacking intensity, as we find ourselves thrust into the head of young Will as he is on the precipice of tragedy, even as a much older version of Will is thrust into this very same perspective. Fortunately for both him and us readers, his older self realizes where he is – England in the early sixties – and what is about to happen, and the event is averted.
Expecting that he’ll have the opportunity to replay his life and fix all the other things that probably went wrong, we soon meet his childhood friend Col – well, sort of – and these expectations are quickly shattered. From here, things become quite uncertain for our composite protagonist, and Iskander tells the story with an immersive style. I enjoyed the journey, and several twists, both subtle and not, await anyone who reads this.
The characters in particular are well drawn. Perhaps the younger set are unusually mature on occasion, but they are clearly good and smart students, and of course our protagonist has a certain old man living in his head to help him out. The adults are crafted with care, too, particularly Col’s mother. Relationships shift and deepen, secrets abound, and throughout the story there is both a sense of hope and anxiety, perfect for keeping the narrative moving. I particularly liked the give and take that each relationship offered; everyone had their moments of both vulnerability and victory.
I had some minor quibbles with the plotting and pacing of a few parts, where the story glossed over some threads that seemed like they deserved more attention. One section in particular would be worthy of a revision by the author in the future. And depending on how you like your do-over stories, you can even argue that the effect is underused in some cases. But this doesn’t detract from what is actually a highly personal tale of a kid navigating the confluence of several tough situations, with all of it splashed on top of the history of Europe during the Cold War. Although, even in that respect there are surprises, again some subtle and some not.
It’s a very thoughtful tale in many respects, with numerous complementary parts that work together very well. Especially for a first foray into writing fiction, Iskander has done a great job. The book might benefit from some minor revisions (its own do-over, so to speak, with slight alterations to its own history!), but I’m mostly interested to see what happens next with these characters that I grew to know. Certainly the ending leaves plenty of room for a continuation, so here’s to a sequel!
