Ian Ayris

After a four year wait, the sequel to Abide With Me has been published. It's excellent!

April Skies

Amazon.com

My review - 

We pick up the life of John Sissons after his release from a prison sentence. I can’t be the only reader of Abide With Me who wondered what the future held for him. He manages to get a job in a factory, though it’s bleak and soul destroying – repetitious and uninspiring. He needs the money, though. His ‘baby sister’ Becky, now seventeen, has a boyfriend and John’s not impressed. A few more characters from his past catch up with him and he finds himself in dire need of friends. He’s been set up for something and he fears for Becky’s life. Strands mesh together as the story reaches its climax.

Thoreau famously observed that ‘the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation’ and Ian Ayris illustrates this so well with John and some of his friends. Life’s kicked them in the guts in their childhood and he often wishes he could go back to that happy time, before any of the problems of his life beset him. On the surface, he’s a no-hoper, but scratch that exterior and there’s a bit of a philosopher underneath. He – and possibly many of the people we would dismiss as an underclass – has a depth of character which Ayris teases out and celebrates. I really found this a very satisfying read, but if you’re allergic to strong language, you won’t enjoy it. Be prepared.

Ian Ayris

Ian's latest book, a novella, will not take you long to read but it will stay with you for much longer.

 

One Day in the Life of Jason Dean

Amazon.com  One Day in the Life of Jason Dean

My review -

This book will no doubt lose readers from the start due to its uncompromising use of ‘bad’ language.  I hope they will not be deterred from reading what is a very emotive story.  It sets the scene for a man who is an enforcer, a hit man, for a gang boss. He is tough, not afraid of violence, but almost has a ‘secret life’ in that he is fond of literature and loves Shostakovich.  He has a surprisingly cultured outlook for a thug.  He is also obsessively concerned with buying his daughter Sophie a birthday present.

This is a moving account of a man on the brink of desperation.  If you can take the style of language you will be moved beyond belief by the content.  I found it a totally gripping read.

Ian Ayris

I shouldn't have liked this book.  I loved it!

Abide with Me

Amazon.com  Abide with Me

My review -

On the surface I shouldn't like this book at all. I do like my correct English, spelling and grammar and this book is written in East End vernacular. It also heavily features football, which is of no interest to me at all. I began reading with trepidation but after a page or two I found that instead of reading 'incorrect English' I was listening to Johnny Sissons' voice in my head. It was excellently done and 'hearing' it like that made you feel you were sharing his thoughts.

It's a tale told in the first person by a lad from a caring family who grows up with their values. We start with him in the top end of his primary school where he looks out for his neighbour, a fat and intellectually challenged boy who is the target of bullies. He discovers that Kenny is also a target at home for his own father. John shows deep emotions; he really loves his little sister, he respects his parents and loves The Hammers. Even a non-footie person could pick up the excitement and cameraderie of the football matches, especially the final, which has such final results for his family.

Over the next few years we see influences on John which result in his imprisonment. He still lives by his own moral compass though, except that it gradually becomes flawed. His 'lightbulb moment' when he sees what he has become and what it means for his mother and sister is brilliantly done. The ending is fast, exciting, inevitable. This is a surprising and wonderful book. It will challenge you, make you think, pull at your emotions. I highly recommend it.