A short review for Afterwards

5.0 out of 5 stars Afterwards by David Kennedy, 26 Oct 2010

P. A. Cunningham "Penny" (N.Ireland) - This review is from: Afterwards (Paperback)
I finished this book last night and I can honestly say I have never read anything like it before! I felt sorry for this man William Kenneth Ian Right his life was so mundane and mind numbing. I kept thinking whats going on here and had to keep reading to find out. The twist in the tale was so unexpected I was really shocked. This was a really good thought provoking read and I would highly recommend it.

The main characters name

It took me a long, long time to come up with a name for the main character in the book. I was trying to keep the book without borders, as in, I was trying to keep it as free from national identity as possible and by national identity I mean a Scottish identity. I was initially going to keep him nameless like so many of us are to others. This seemed like a good idea to me but slowly it dawned on me that much of the book is without definite distinction as in it's very dreamy and loose, so I decided against this approach.

Thinking seriously about it I realised that I could incorporate a 'joke' so to speak into the story by the use of the name of the character. William Kenneth Ian Right is a not so obvious name if you are not Scottish or in the know about Scottish slang language. When you look at that name the 'joke' lies in the second part of his name, Kenneth. If you shorten the whole name down a little to this; Will Ken I Right, you start to get a picture of where the name originated from in my mind. This Scottish slang version of the name reads roughly in English this; Will know I'm right. This keeps the rough kind of not definite feel of the book perfectly in balance with the name of the main character called William.

Also it is a slight homage from me to the spirit of William S Burroughs (wherever he may be) for the main character in the book to share the same first name with such a wonderfully powerful writer. As I write the name William a million thoughts rush through my head from Central America to Africa and on to the cold streets of New York City, via a multitude of deaths and trips which came to be regarding the life and times of William S Burroughs.

We travel on.....