Saturday, November 10, 2012

Photographs of Boden by Simon Kurt Unsworth. Chapbook review


Photographs of Boden by Simon Kurt Unsworth, published as a 36-page chapbook, is available directly from the author.

Steve Boden has a good life with good memories, until he discovers the photo albums. As he browses their pages the images of him as a child become defaced as a chemical-like mark obliterates the faces of his younger self. But worse than that: his memories are blurring, changing; he learns that he wasn’t the boy he once recalled. He talks to friends, his father, his estranged sister and each time the conversation leaves him feeling hopelessly lost with new and uncertain memories. Photographs of Boden is a poignantly told story about identity and its loss, of losing control of one’s past and hence one’s personality.

The chapbook’s production value could be improved upon. However, the story itself transcends the publication’s appearance. The chapbook costs £3.50 with £1.00 of each sale going to Cancer Research UK. There are three other chapbooks in the series: The Pennine Tower Restaurant, Left Behind and The Pyramid Spider, at £3.50 each or £13.00 for all four (includes p&p in the UK). Email the author directly to order these chapbooks.

Reviewed by Peter Coleborn



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