The Pharmacist

[close] Billy is just twenty-four, a young man drawn into the sphere of Albert — The Pharmacist — a compelling but damaged older man, and a veteran of London's late '90s after-hours scene. A chance meeting on Columbia Road Flower Market, in the heart of the East End, leads to an unconventional friendship. As their relationship grows, driven by Albert's strange narratives and his endless supply of narcotics, the ordinary foundations of Billy's own life shift and change. Alive with the strange twilight times between day and night, consciousness and unconsciousness, this is a story of love, of loss and alienation.

A profoundly moving, tender portrait of an unexpected relationship. Justin David's prose burns with the joy of self-discovery and the kind of dark beauty that comes from living a life outside of the shackles of 'normality'. This is brave writing - fiercely honest and rich with integrity - from a new, exciting talent.
ALEX HOPKINS, BEIGE MAGAZINE