Review by Maria Bligh
I was delighted to be provided with a review copy of A Pearl Amongst Oysters by John Silverton, an award-winning Eastbourne author and artist.
First, the story (and I’ll try to avoid spoilers)… it’s an interesting story that takes place across various locations from the north of England to the South Coast and overseas to Hong Kong, with the main characters being of different nationalities. It also spans several years and there’s a twist in the tale that’s reflective of history repeating itself. The story is well-paced and holds the reader’s interest to the end to reveal its conclusion. The finale is inspired – sad and believable.
John is a writer of some advanced years, meaning he’s accumulated a great deal of knowledge spanning subjects from history through politics, foods, geography, and more. All things that can add to the rich tapestry of any novel. Although some readers might think the abundance of detail ostentatious, there’s no doubt they will finish the work with increased knowledge in several areas. If you enjoy getting more from a novel than a simple story, this one’s for you.
Of the characters in the novel, I must say I didn’t warm to the main protagonist. He seemed to me to be quite arrogant and deceitful with an inability to take responsibility. Perhaps, also, he’s acting as most men do when heavily focusing on the physical aspects of women.
Whilst reading, it amused me to ponder whether, when the main male character has women practically throwing themselves at him and thus enjoys plenty of sex – especially in unlikely scenarios – there is any autobiographical wishful thinking on the author’s part!
Of course, one doesn’t have to like the main character in every book but when this happens, I always wonder whether the author had intended this effect.
This isn’t something unique to A Pearl Amongst Oysters. To some extent I found the same when reading the epic novel, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, although diluted across 944 pages rather than the 266 of A Pearl Amongst Oysters it appeared somewhat less obvious. It’s also possible this is just a personal gripe of mine.
John is undoubtedly a talented writer with an enviable vocabulary and I’d be interested to see how he would handle a piece of work written from a female perspective, something several successful male authors have challenged themselves to produce. Recent examples I’ve enjoyed have been books by Matt Haigh and Kazuo Ishiguro. I suggest it’s an exercise that can only improve an author’s skill.
You can read some of John’s short stories on this very site and A Pearl Amongst Oysters is available to purchase on Amazon.
