"His words could never be shut out. They could be erased–probably should be erased–but they could never be shut out."
 |
Jane Davies by Douglas Nordfors Trafford Publishing
book review by Wendy Strain
Jane Davies is a literary novel that follows the path of Edward Larson, a man lost within himself. Don't look for thrilling car chases and noisy explosions within these pages, but if you look closely enough, there may be something even more enthralling.
The novel opens with Edward at a party at a beachfront home near Boston. Despite the setting, Edward is not mingling with the other guests and admits he is only there for his high school friend Kelly, a woman he seems to have only a half-hearted attraction toward. He is introduced to another guest, Jeremy Davies. This inadvertently touches off the action for the rest of the novel as Jeremy recognizes in Edward the same kind of lost stasis that has enveloped his own world.
Back in Long Island, Jeremy turns up in the nick of time to physically rescue Edward from moving into the streets upon losing the apartment he'd been staying in. With his material needs stabilized, Edward must still find a means of overcoming the apathy that seems part of the modern condition. He slowly discovers he is not the only individual to be suffering from this condition as he meets Jeremy's sister, Jane, and Jeremy's wife, Karen. Discovering a strange connection to the London Blitz, it is Edward's challenge to find his way back to life, perhaps bringing those around him along for the journey.