Tiny Pieces of Enid - Tim Ewins

 

I read Tim Ewins’s first novel, We Are Animals,  and I loved it unequivocally. So I was curious to read his next book and was wondering whether he would succumb to that ‘difficult second album syndrome’.  Not that I would blame him, it’s happened to many. But he didn’t. ‘Enid’ is as different a book to ‘Animals’ as you could find - on the surface. Thematically it’s darker, with dementia and troubled marriages central to the storyline. And if that sounds like a heavy read, it is, yes, but the quirky humour that so endeared ’Animals’ to me is still there in a subtler, more nuanced way. This is a more poignant book that will make you think as well as weep for it touches upon some fundamental aspects of the human condition, ageing, love and the need for connection on simple and complex levels. But underlying the narrative is the developing style of Tim Ewins. I love to see how a writer progresses, how they work at their craft, learning and growing. 

Enid and Roy will break your hearts, their situation is touching yet there is no practical solution. Olivia will touch you in a different way for she does have a solution once she admits to herself the need to act to save herself. I’m not wishing to give anything away so I hope I’ve not said too much!

To get inside the head of a dementia sufferer is nigh on impossible. To convince a reader that, as a writer, you’re doing just that is downright dangerous! It has to be believable and convincing for without that the story would fall apart. Research alone won’t do it. Observation and understanding are required in swathes. And that’s clearly, or certainly it seems to me, exactly what Tim Ewins has. 

I loved the avian imagery sustained throughout from Enid’s imaginary parrot to her daughter’s fledgling blackbirds. So many concepts are contained within these metaphors that I felt contributed to the novel being that little bit more than ‘just’ story telling. 

My copy of this book was acquired for me by my local library. They had to source it from another library. I had to pay a small fee for the service but it was worth every penny.