‘Would this be his life from now on, falling asleep in a semi-drunken haze as the spirit of his best friend watched telly in the next room? Waking up hungover every morning and grimly consuming spirits? How long could he keep that up?’
– Spirit Level
[ About Spirit Level ]
Danny Hook is a directionless twenty-something year old fresh out of therapy. Dealing with his disappointed family and dead-end career, he’s sure things couldn’t get much worse, until a drink-driving accident leaves his best friend Nudge dead.
Danny also discovers he can see ghosts – but only when he’s drunk. Saddled with a best friend who can’t leave his side, they must figure out what’s going on and why Nudge can’t cross over. Can Danny negotiate family life, therapy and a ghost that refuses to fade into the background before time runs out?
[ My Review ]
Spirit Level by Richy Craven will publish April 25th with Eriu (Bonnier) and is described by Irish comedian and writer Alison Spittle as ‘a charming, zippy and hilarious read’.
Danny Hook is not experiencing his best life. Living in a shared and cramped apartment, while paying the bills by working at the local Spar, Danny is frustrated. He sees acquaintances and old school friends moving on with their lives and he is envious. Danny appears to be stuck in some kind of limbo, unable to motivate himself to take action and make much needed changes.
A homecoming party for an old flame sees life taking a wee turn for Danny. He arrives at the party hoping to reconnect but instead finds his ex now loved up with someone else. With the drink flowing, the party gets into full swing but, after a while Danny is aware that his friend Nudge is missing. Nudge has a habit of drink driving so, in a panic, Danny searches him out. What follows is a tragedy where Nudge loses his life.
Traumatised and riddled with guilt, Danny imagines he can see and talk to Nudge. He contemplates his sanity until the realisation hits him that he is not hallucinating. He can see Nudge. He can talk to Nudge. But there is one major catch. He can only see and communicate with Nudge when he is tanked up. Danny is back home with his parents allowing him the time to recuperate and grieve following the death of his close friend. His drinking has his close family concerned so he returns to therapy, convinced he’s having some kind of breakdown. With a past history of mental health issues and panic attacks, his parents concern is of no great surprise to Danny, but what is a surprise is Nudge’s presence in his life, when he is clearly dead.
Danny has no experience of the afterlife, but he knows enough to be aware that something is amiss and that something is keeping Nudge from crossing over to the other side. Danny and Nudge, in a highly entertaining fashion, partner up in an attempt to discover what is actually happening. They embark on a very unexpected adventure and with plenty of high jinks along the way, the pair become embroiled in some very startling activities.
Spirit Level is littered with comic interactions and conversations throughout but it also highlights some very relevant themes. Male friendship and mental health are central to Spirit Level, with Richy Craven drawing from his own personal experiences and infusing them with a dark, and very distinct, Irish wit. Spirit Level is described as a funny book, which it is, but it is also a poignant, warm-hearted and sensitively written debut. I’m not so sure that the book is fully closed on Danny Hook so we will have to wait and see, but I, for one, am hoping for Spirit Level Book 2!! In a world where chaos currently reigns, sincere creatives like Richy Craven are extremely important to all our sanity, providing much-needed escapism and humour, with just the right amount of reality on top. Charismatic, gratifying and peppy, Spirit Level is a fun read, a terrific debut.
**Thank you to Richy Craven for a copy of Spirit Level in exchange for my honest review.
[ Bio ]
Richy Craven is an Irish writer. He will cautiously admit to having a degree in Environmental Biology, provided there are no follow up questions. He can be found mostly on Twitter for as long as that is still a thing. He lives in Dublin with his girlfriend and a Border Collie named Rio. Richy collects comic books and anxiety disorders.
X ~ @RichyCraven
Sounds like it made you laugh?
It did Rosie. A delightful read!