Author: Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle’s first novel since 1984’s Train to Hell comes as something of a pleasant surprise. His short fiction, whilst being thoroughly enjoyable, and of a patchily high standard, didn’t really fill me with enthusiasm for his writing in a longer format. I got the distinct feeling, reading his short stories, that he wrote his last line, a line that was invariably brilliant and often hilarious or shocking, or hilariously shocking for that matter, that he wrote this final line first, and then searched for a way to reach it; the body of the story generally felt secondary to the denouement, as if it was just there to serve it. So, when tentatively reading Overtaken, to discover such an intricately plotted, beautifully paced, thoughtful and incisive novel, was quite a joy. And, on top of that, the hilarious one-liners, outlandish plot-twists and idiosyncratic prose of Sayle’s short work have survived the transition to this more ambitious effort.
Can People change? What shapes one’s personality? Who are we when everything and everyone else is stripped away? Sayle’s exploration of the effects of tragedy is narrated by Kevin, a property developer in his early 30s from Liverpool. His business dealings are successful, he has a close-nit group of friends with whom he enjoys the arts: plays, art galleries, films, books, avant-garde circuses; (he also, rather dubiously, considers video-games to be of cultural merit) his evenings and weekends are filled with activity. They even take holidays and weekend breaks away together. He exists only as part of this group.
Tragedy strikes. On the way back from a visit to the Lowry in Salford, a horrendous car accident kills all of his friends; Kevin, driving in the car behind, helplessly witnesses the entire incident. Subsequently, two new people enter his life: Florence, a beautiful circus performer from an unnamed eastern European country, (presumably Chechnya), and Sidney Maxton-Brown, the unlicensed driver of the non-roadworthy truck that killed Kevin’s friends. Florence is a member of CirKuss, a circus troop made up entirely of refugees from war-torn countries. Her dark, tragic beauty initially scares off Kevin, but after his own loss he finds himself powerfully drawn to her. They gradually become a couple, instinctively knowing not to pry into each other’s pasts.
Kevin also worms his way into Sidney’s life following the latter’s premature release from prison on compassionate grounds (he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, which had subsequently gone into remission.) But, Kevin’s motives are not of vengeance, well, at least not in the traditional sense. The trouble is, Sidney doesn’t feel any guilt for what he has done, and that is what hurts Kevin the most. Not only has he gotten away without a prison sentence, but his conscience is also completely clear. Kevin befriends Sidney, and sets out to humanise him, to make him an empathetic being, to make him feel the requisite pain for what he has done.
Sayle’s novel has some interesting things to say about pain, and the relationship between the inflictor and the inflicted, and the way that everyone copes with it and reacts to it differently; the subjectivity of pain and suffering, of guilt and responsibility. It also interestingly explores the question of what it is that defines us, what it is that makes us who we are. Where do our ideas and prejudices come from? If the slate is wiped clean, who are we and what do we do? It is also, unsurprisingly, very funny. A delight.ss808
