This book was quite a read. It was thought provoking and draws interesting parallels to real life.
I started reading it because I was drawn to the idea of a writer giving just about everything up to become a published author, which is my goal. (Becoming published, that is…) The way he goes about it is quite different from the normal routes one might normally use. He sets out to practically starve himself in the hopes of dedicating himself to nothing but writing. Quite a premise for a novel.
The topic that the book ended up delving into was very revealing (and somewhat questionable). The main character tried to come to terms with who he really is. And what he’s learned from his family. And if he is destined to repeat their mistakes. This makes you think about the “genes” you may have inherited from your family line. But also shows, in the end, that you don’t have to follow the pattern. You can break free out on your own.
But it takes a turn in a different direction when it focuses on the main character’s obsession with a young girl that borders on pedophilia. Not in a very good way. Not the horrors of The Lovely Bones, thankfully (I say thankfully, for the sake of the girl in the story, as The Lovely Bones
This actually describes our character almost to a ‘T’ : Psychology of the Pedophile
Related: Must read for parents, caretakers, older siblings- how to keep your child safe
It also plays on the theme of “the grass is greener” elsewhere, quite a bit. His loneliness takes him to many places and he is quite foolish in the way he deals with it at times.
Related: The Right Way to deal with feeling lonely and where it really comes from
The writer side of him seems to suffers from delusions of grandeur (grand, GRAND grandeur!). He tells people all about himself becoming a famous author but sadly, does not always put the work in to accomplish this. (Which may be some telling advice for would be writers out there, myself included, I would confess.) As NephGirl quotes, Dreams don’t work unless you do ~John C. Maxwell.
Related: Ways to start writing
But the main character goes quite overboard with his arrogance and how he views himself, which is a red flag of another color- (Read: Wizard of Oz- Now that’s a horse of a different color). 
Arrogance is not the key concern as we discover what kind of person he really is. He is one of those characters that is easy to hate. He really has no major redeeming qualities and he does not change in any major or important ways.
Meaning of horse of a different color
Back to his writing- it is only until later in the novel that he meets someone who does not put up with the dramatics of his ideas about his writing.
(Where can you water your grass to succeed at what’s important to YOU?) Related: How to water the grass of your goals
Overall, I would recommend this book for those who want to see another side of one particular writer who thought he could not make it with his writing nor with making any good choices, but finally got around to see otherwise.
I was disappointed with how one of the main plot points was handled, because of the conclusion. Yes, he didn’t damage himself in the choices he made (too much). But it focused on that, I felt, at the expense of discovering what really was at stake and I don’t feel he really learned anything crucial from his journey. It takes him full circle, but is he really any the better for it?
About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!
Welcome to Novel Publicity’s first ever publishing house blog tour. Join us as three new titles from Perfect Edge–we’re calling them the Perfect Edge Trifecta–tour the blogosphere in a way that just can’t be ignored. And, hey, we’ve got prizes!
About the book: Manchester in 1991 is a town suffering under the weight of high unemployment and massive government budgetary deficits that is plunging the UK into a recession.
To Daniel Crabtree, a struggling writer, it is the backcloth to his first novel, one that will see him become a famous published author. Living off mostly water and flour, Daniel has embraced penury into his life under the mistaken belief that many young artists have: one needs to suffer for success in art. But Daniel is a terrible writer. In the three years since signing on the dole, of every morning chastising his Irish singing neighbour for waking him from his sleep, and scrounging food from his close friend Henry Soperton, Daniel Crabtree has produced one short story. His heart is bereft of words as much as his pockets are of money.
The Sound of Loneliness is a story of love, and how a poor starving man chasing a dream came to the understanding that amidst the clamour of life, the sound of loneliness is the most deafening of all.
Pick up your copy of this Literary/ Urban Life/ Black Comedy through Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Barnes & Noble.
About the author: Craig Wallwork lives in West Yorkshire, England. He is an artist, filmmaker and writer. His short stories have appeared in many publications in the US and the UK. He is the author of the short story collection Quintessence of Dust, and the novels To Die Upon a Kiss and The Sound of Loneliness. Craig is also the fiction editor at Menacing Hedge Magazine. Connect with Craig on his website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.
About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win either of two $25 Amazon gift cards, an autographed copy of The Sound of Loneliness, or an autographed copy of one of its tour mates, Stranger Will by Caleb J Ross or Angel Falls by Michael Paul Gonzalez. Here’s what you need to do…
- Enter the Rafflecopter contest
- Leave a comment on my blog.
That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win a $25 gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other $25 gift card and the 3 autographed books will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form on the official Perfect Edge Trifecta tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!
Perfect Edge Books was founded in late 2011 to unite authors whose books weren’t “obviously” commercial. Our books tend to sit in various genres all at once: literary fiction, satire, neo-noir, sci-fi, experimental prose. We believe that literary doesn’t have to mean difficult, and that difficult doesn’t just mean pointless. We prefer to cultivate a word-of-mouth approach to marketing, and keep production as simple as we can. Learn more at www.PerfectEdgeBooks.com.
Learn more about The Sound of Loneliness‘s tour mates HERE.
BookwormCastle 