If you like
to lose yourself in a really good book, I highly recommend the thriller
“Someone Else’s Conflict”. It was written by fellow ITI German network member
Alison Layland, who I met at a workshop in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago.
I’m not
into reading novels in general (I prefer newspapers and non-fiction books), but
I admit I found myself completely absorbed in this thriller while on holiday in
Germany over Easter. “Someone Else’s Conflict” is an engagingly written, skilfully
composed novel and a real page-turner!
Engagingly written and a real page-turner! |
The
following review by Ros Mendy appeared in the March 2015 edition of the ITI German network’s newsletter:
Someone Else’s Conflict is a new novel by
fellow GerNet member Alison Layland.
The story switches between past and present –
between the Balkans of the 1990s, torn apart by the Croatian War of
Independence, and the Yorkshire Dales, where the biggest problems are the
weather and poor mobile phone coverage. The main character, Jay, is an
itinerant storyteller with multiple identities who is haunted by the ghosts of
Yugoslavia. Marilyn is a local artist, newly single and keen to assert her
independence. The arrival of a third character – an illegal teenage immigrant
called Vinko – is the catalyst that brings the echoes of the Yugoslav conflicts
to the Yorkshire Dales. As Jay’s past catches up with him, his blossoming
relationship with Marilyn is put to the test and they find themselves caught up
in a dark, scary world of murder and revenge.
The book is described as a “gripping crime
debut” and a “fast-paced thriller”. It does have plenty of mystery and suspense
and builds up to a fast-paced finish, but it is far more than a thriller.
Someone Else’s Conflict is an intelligent, character-driven novel that deals
with language and identity, belonging, immigration, trust, guilt, the search
for love and the lasting effects of war. The characters are believable and
engaging, the descriptions evocative and the dialogue realistic. I particularly
enjoyed the storytelling aspects, and even learned the origin of the word
“cravat”.
Someone Else’s Conflict was picked as the
January 2015 debut of the month on Lovereading.co.uk.
(reproduced
with kind permission by Ros Mendy)
Visit Alison Layland’s website here or follow her on Twitter @AlisonLayland.
As a minimalist, I enjoyed reading “Some Else's Conflict” as an e-book, but it is also available in paperback.