A Prison in the Sun
After millennial ghostwriter Trevor Moore rents an old farmhouse in Fuerteventura, he moves in to find his muse.
Instead, he discovers a rucksack filled with cash. Who does it belong to – and should he hand it in… or keep it?
Struggling to make up his mind, Trevor unravels the harrowing true story of a little-known concentration camp that incarcerated gay men in the 1950s and 60s.
Purchase Link: http://mybook.to/prisonsun
My Review
Thanks to Rachel and the author for sending me an ebook copy of this book and organising the blog tour.
Trevor Moore has taken to a lonely farmhouse in Tefia, Fuerteventura, in an effort to find his muse and actually have his name on the cover of a book. Instead he finds himself and a manuscript in a rucksack. While hidden away he confronts his childhood trauma, his sexuality and his insecurities about his manhood.
The lonely, rock-strewn landscape is home to a hostel, which was once a concentration camp for homosexual men, the ones unlucky enough to be caught and to be poor, in the Canaries during the reign of Franco. Struggling to find his muse, Trevor explores the place and then finds a manuscript written in Spanish hidden in a rucksack he finds in some caves. By happenstance, the manuscript is a fictive memoir of a prisoner from the camp. Trevor translates the story. He’s ghost writing, again, even with his own flourishes, although he doesn’t admit that to himself.
But finding the rucksack is the start of something Trevor doesn’t realise. He should hand it in, but something stops him, and as the days pass things occur on the island that disturb him. Indecisive, he loses himself in his work and
I didn’t like Trevor for the first half of the book, he came across as whiny, self-indulgent and shallow, but as I progressed and his own reflections develop, he becomes very relatable. He’s a confused, pained soul, desperate for recognition of his ability and for understanding. He has to confront his past trauma and his own ‘Catholic-guilt’ about his sexuality to move forward. I felt sorry for him, although he really should have handed in the rucksack.
The story within the story, of Jose Ramos, prisoner at Tefia, is heartbreaking. It’s moving, painful and very descriptive. Especially the bit with the dog. I saw that in my head. *shudder*.
The dry, wind-beaten landscape, the pounding waves of the coast, the tension after a body is found, it all crackled and fizzed. I read 70% of this book in 2 hours, it was so gripping. I really, really wanted to know what happened to Jose and I wanted to know what Trevor decided to do.
Trevor made bad decisions, and wow! the ending! Utterly shocking. SOmeone else might be finding himself in a prison in the sun.
Couple of linguistic things – Trevor is supposed to be English. but calls his trainers plimsolls and his wallet a billfold. Might be something for the writer to look at.
Also, if you’re going to tramp all over the Canary Islands wear decent walking shoes. They are volcanoes!
Author Bio
Isobel Blackthorn is an award-winning author of unique and engaging fiction. She writes dark psychological thrillers, mysteries, and contemporary and literary fiction. Isobel was shortlisted for the Ada Cambridge Prose Prize 2019 for her biographical short story, ‘Nothing to Declare’. The Legacy of Old Gran Parks is the winner of the Raven Awards 2019. Isobel holds a PhD from the University of Western Sydney, for her research on the works of Theosophist Alice A. Bailey, the ‘Mother of the New Age.’ She is the author of The Unlikely Occultist: a biographical novel of Alice A. Bailey.
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/Lovesick.Isobel.Blackthorn/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768657.Isobel_Blackthorn
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