David M Sindall
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After Alyson
Mark Garvey likes women, wine and football. He is obsessed by the past but wants a better future. His relationship with Alyson, an Australian physiotherapist, has ended disastrously. In an attempt to forge a new start, he escapes Birmingham for a new job as Director of Social Services in Devon. He moves to Hope Cove, rents a holiday home and tries to start a new life. As a kid, he took holidays in the same part of Devon, so his reason for being there mirrors his desire to rediscover a sense of childhood optimism for the future. Yet leaving does not resolve his problems; it just creates new ones that get in the way of him moving forward. Mark Garvey has many problems, but the biggest problem he has is that he is Mark Garvey.
He eventually stumbles into a relationship with the local doctor, Kalpna. Yet beneath the surface, the playground of his childhood optimism is littered with pitfalls and chaos – not that different to what he has left behind.
Told half through flashback and half through present-day narrative, After Alyson is funny, romantic and at times disturbing. The insight into deafness and disability makes this book unique. It will appeal to fans of romance fiction and has been inspired by a variety of authors, including Graham Greene, Nick Hornby and Ian Banks, and a holiday that David took to Hope Cove many years ago
Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Page turner; humour; intrigue; romance; relatable. A really good read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2019
This book contains humour and self-depreciating wit that had me laughing out loud in its relatability. The central character 'Mark' is likeable even though his behaviour exasperates at times and leads him into difficult situations and dilemmas and later there are some dark themes that add to the chaos of his life. The first throes of obsessive love, all-consuming to the exclusion of everything else is depicted beautifully between Mark and Alyson, for example, the silly love games played between besotted lovers on a hot lustful holiday. Then the crash of challenges that depict our human flaws and choices that can make or break relationships and alter the course of the future. This book has fun, romance, thrills, and a hapless but likable central character with subplots that maintain the reader's interest to the end
5.0 out of 5 stars After Alyson
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2019
Another great read from David Sindall. I enjoy his style of writing, how it goes from past to present then merges at the very end. An exciting read, never knowing the outcome, keeps the pages turning
4.0 out of 5 stars After reading After Alyson
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2016
David Sindall creates a believable central character; funny, frustrating, emotional and deeply flawed. It's an honest account of how life doesn't go to plan and how human beings succumb to weaknesses despite, at one level, knowing better. Although the football analogies went over my head I thoroughly enjoyed this book; great holiday reading.
5.0 out of 5 stars Page turner; humour; intrigue; romance; relatable. A really good read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2019
This book contains humour and self-depreciating wit that had me laughing out loud in its relatability. The central character 'Mark' is likeable even though his behaviour exasperates at times and leads him into difficult situations and dilemmas and later there are some dark themes that add to the chaos of his life. The first throes of obsessive love, all-consuming to the exclusion of everything else is depicted beautifully between Mark and Alyson, for example, the silly love games played between besotted lovers on a hot lustful holiday. Then the crash of challenges that depict our human flaws and choices that can make or break relationships and alter the course of the future. This book has fun, romance, thrills, and a hapless but likable central character with subplots that maintain the reader's interest to the end
4.0 out of 5 stars A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2019
“After Alyson” A really well written story with several plot threads weaving backward and forward in time to reveal the hopes, fears and faults of Mark Garvey. All the characters easily slot into your imagination and you feel that you “are in the room” with them as they live out their various scenes.
As the title lets us know the draw is to learn the details of the what why and how. As the tale unfolded, I found I read more and more pages to get closer to knowing. A thoroughly enjoyable read
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What David Says
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My debut novel. One of my family calls this my ‘autobiography’, which it isn’t. I am not Mark Garvey, he is my alter-ego. I mean, honestly, would I support West Brom? My intention was to write a book that would appeal to male readers, however most people who read books are women. Duh! All the men and women who have read it seem to enjoy it. You can’t ask for more than that.
Miscellaneous Fact: I came very close to selling the TV rights to a Scandic broadcaster. Still think it would make an interesting TV drama.