The Words We Use are Black and White by Simon Holloway

The Words We Use are Black and White by Simon Holloway

'On essaie de trouver les couleurs qu'on a reve.' - Jacques Brel In Evian, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lucy sells tickets at the cinema. In the hills above the water, her brother believes himself happily married to a woman he once tried to find by swimming across the lake. Their childhood friend, Fabrice, is returning from the quiet confusion of Canadian trees and the brief memory of his girlfriend in Toronto. Into this relative stillness comes Alain, escaping Geneva's necessity of human contact. But a budding relationship between Alain and Lucy forces them all to reconsider the ways in which they try to talk to each other. To the songs of Jacques Brel and with the lake as a constant presence, Lucy, her brother Jean-Luc, and Fabrice struggle to make themselves heard among the clamour of failing words and misconceptions, leading to potential crises for them all. This interwoven story of love, family and our inability to make ourselves understood leaves you wondering if language can ever be more than guesswork, and if so whether anyone can ever be heard. And for Alain, tangled somewhere in the middle'

So I have a number of notes on my kindle about this novel and overall I found it a really enjoyable read and that's not because Simon is my lecturer. The book itself is easy to read, to follow and is set in some really beautiful clear places. An example would be 'The lake is clear. At it's edge you can see small catfish and perch flit about in the shallows, praying for bands of well-wishers to cast out yesterday's bread' For me this created a beautiful image in my mind because it captured a side of Lucy that I hadn't yet encountered. Also Lucy has to be my favourite character in the novel! She's so gone with the wind it's just wow.

The whole book has examples that I could gush and gush about, I wasn't expecting this when Simon gave me a copy but I'm really glad I read it, I think I might even buy a paperback of it because it's so good. I can't fathom more words to explain the story except suggest that you should read this book.