Changing the Subject by Kate Abley: book review

Note: I received a free copy to independently review.

Changing the Subject (2019) is set in Chingford, North East London in 2019 at the time of Brexit, and in 1979.

Fifty-eight year old Sue Duggen is in Puerto Rico, after arriving illegally in a Somali boat after evading hospital, and she has to get back to England. She has Alzheimer’s and has been in a drug trial for Zabtrex for a year to prevent the deterioration of her mind.

She has a sister Jan, and two children—Jo and Sam—but Sue looks 18 years old due to the drug trial going horribly wrong. Instead of preventing an aged mind, it has de-aged her skin. Now everyone wants her DNA to regenerate other people—she is worth a fortune, and she is in danger.

She is in danger from herself, because her Alzheimer’s is making her delusional. Why is everyone talking to her in such a condescending manner? She is eighteen and just wants to go home to Mum and Dad—why don’t people understand that?

Sue remembers the late 1970s well—when her name was Sue Jolly. She remembers Margaret Thatcher and the rise of feminism, studying art, how much she looked like her mother, and she remembers her parents’ divorce, and Steve Duggen—her ex-husband.

And when the government’s ethics doctor arrives, is Sue’s privacy still the top priority? Ethics, conspiracies, experimental research, human rights, genetics, gerontology, rejuvenation, Extinction Rebellion, illegal immigration, racism, politics, and the law are all mentioned in this fast-talking novel.

This is a comedic view of Sue with Alzheimer’s—but with all the poignancy of reality. Told in the third person, it is largely conversational rather than descriptive, the majority is reflective rather than episodic, and it is loose and free with punctuations and question marks. Why is everything a question? It’s also extremely colloquial to British circumstances, current affairs, language, and idioms, which might baffle some readers, but worth a read.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Shindi: the Georgian Cornelian cherry

The Cornelian cherry – shindi in Georgian – is a fruit with medicinal and decorative properties. It was grown from ancient times, according to the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). It is also commonly called the European cornel. It is native to southern Europe from France to Ukraine as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The Cornelian cherry tree ( Cornus mas ) can be grown in orchards, but it is often seen in the forests of Georgia where it grows up to 1,350 metres above sea level. It is a medium to large deciduous tree, growing from 5-12 metres tall. The flowers are small with four yellow petals in clusters, which flower in February and March. The Cornus mas has three botanical varieties: (1) var. typica Sanadze with cylindrical red fruits, (2) var. pyriformis Sanadze with pear-shaped red fruits, and (3) var. flava vest with yellow fruits. The fruits are oblong red drupes about 2 centimetres ...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog