About the Author
Born and bred in south London – and not the Somerset village with which he shares a name – West Camel worked as an editor in higher education and business before turning his attention to the arts and publishing. He has worked as a book and arts journalist, and was editor at Dalkey Archive Press, where he edited the Best European Fiction 2015 anthology, before moving to new press Orenda Books just after its launch. He currently combines his work as editorial director at Orenda with editing The Riveter magazine and #RivetingReviews for the European Literature Network.
He has also written several short scripts, which have been produced in London’s fringe theatres, and was longlisted for the Old Vic’s 12 playwright project. His debut novel, Attend was published in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. His second novel, Fall will be published in December 2021. Follow @west_camel on Twitter, Visit westcamel.net
About the book
Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.
But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that changed their lives forever.
Evocative, thought-provoking and exquisitely written, Fall is an unforgettable story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave…
Review
Aaron is, as far as he is aware, the last man standing in a building complex set for refurbishment and demolishment. He is determined to fight to preserve the family legacy, and equally determined to fight his brother Clive. The only thing they can agree on is what a blast from the past could mean for both o them when old friends start to stir up long forgotten trouble and trauma.
I think this author in particular has told a story - the actual core of the premise - that tends to be dismissed, perhaps because systemic racism is part of our colonial roots and the fabric of societal structures. It has been a part of the way we act and interact for so long that it is the norm.
Camel notes the nuances of racism in a variety of ways. From the stereotypical assumptions about the presence in a predominantly white neighbourhood, to the questioning of ownership as opposed to being renters. Most importantly how easy it is and was to point the finger, and in doing so use the systemic abuse and stereotypes to create a story no one questions. Why don't they question? Yeh the answer is part of a bigger problem in a society that lives to the tune of the ghost of a colonial mother ship. Elitism, privilege and whiteness reign supreme, which leaves an abundance of racially profiled victims in its wake.
Although this is a completely different direction from Attend, which is also worth reading by the way, the author always cements his stories in the depths of human interactions and emotions. I think it's a fascinating social commentary with vivid parallels being drawn throughout with the architecture and surroundings to the characters themselves.
Buy Fall at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. At Orenda Books.
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