Review: Watching Swifts by R J Askew

My Review - 5 stars! 

Watching Swifts is one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read simply because of the way the story progresses. An ongoing monologue from the central character, the story is a slow but steady evolution of the man himself. I’ve never read anything like it; in its own way, it’s truly unique because I believe this method of character development is a one-of-a-kind. 

The book starts in Emma’s POV, a war photographer and deals with a rather chance meeting with Leonardo, an ice cream vendor who is so much more than a seller of vanilla to the tourists in Kew Gardens. The majority of the book is a monologue as mentioned before and at first, I admit to some initial confusion. I couldn’t seem to connect with Leo, could only recognize the talent of an author who managed to plot a story in this way and yet, keep me engaged. Once I made the connection, about 10% of the way in –so if you’re like me, you must persevere-, I slowly fell in love with the tone, the cheekiness, the arguments with Mr. Parker, a rather mean park keeper, as well as the insights into a couple who are engaging in an illicit affair and Luigi, the peeping Tom who gets his kicks from sneaking peeks at the unsuspecting couple. 

The way the author engages you, is actually very clever. You start to see the pettiness of life, the inanities that Leo comments on and through it all, the passing of nature in his love of swifts. Their migratory patterns will long outlast our petty and small existences. 
There are snippets of poetry within the novella and very good they are too, but the story is much more than that. It’s thought-provoking and unnerving. You sense Mr. Parker’s agitation with Leo and the latter’s need to bite back. The yearning in Isabel to be a part of an affair, to simple feel something; a city exec’s troubled marriage and the dog who doesn’t like his self-obsessed owner. 

This is the kind of book that makes me glad self-publishing exists, because it’s unusual and sometimes, the traditional publishers don’t appreciate that. Especially with first time authors. It’s a book that twists and turns and trundles along, describing life and the world that revolves around us in a unique way. And at the same time, it’s tongue in cheek, humorous, honest and very, very real. It makes you want to stop, stand back and study people the way Leo does. Attain the same insights into human nature that he does. It reminds you of the fast pace of life and tells you that there is another way. 

The synopsis doesn’t give you a clue as to how the story will occur. I read it, expecting it to follow a certain pattern. Expected to read a romance novel, something which intrigued me simply because the author is a man and I’ve never actually read a romance by a man! But, that being said, it didn’t follow that pattern at all and what I proceeded to read was a rather clever study of the human race in all its glory and all its pettiness. I read the opposite of a Happy Ever After in a way. A love that is perfect, but that will never be allowed to be blossom and then, ultimately, die. It will remain as a bud, forever frozen. Beautiful in its own way without the sureness of death.

Let me say that if you don’t know what a swift is, then look it up. And by the end of it, expect to want to visit Kew Gardens. If you do, and if you happen to have this novella on your Kindle, then you’ll have a corker of a day. This is no trite throw-away romance novel, but a serious character development of a man, who is at the centre of the story and whose own tale is cloaked within his observations. 

Expect to be shocked, amused, concerned and through it all, congratulate the author for taking you through the emotional wringer! Especially at the end, the prologue and epilogue are in Emma’s POV and if your eyes don’t feel slightly moist, then there’s no hope for you!


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