Ammoniac by Henry Maguire

Synopsis: An unemployed and unenamoured young man knows that he is going to die. Perhaps not any time soon, but someday. After falling in love at the Jobcentre with fellow nowhere goer and prematurely failed artist Sally, an act of modest benefit fraud finances an uneasy weekend in Paris, in an ill-fated bid at some approximation of innocence.

Ammoniac is a wonderfully written book. The language used in the book is gritty, raw and uncensored and then at times it becomes lyrical -a wonderful juxtaposition that is so well-balanced. Its dystopian tone rides along nicely with this marriage of humour and darkness. To add to this, it feels unequivocally British - the lingo, the language. I do not feel so far away from knowing someone like him, its familiarity is weirdly comforting. We venture into pubs, encounter local veterans of the bars and frequently visit the job centre with their condescending tones and school-like approach to educating adults on how to get into the workplace (like we don’t know ).

I find it hard to put my finger on whether I like this guy or not. We follow his somewhat smart awareness of the people around him, he appears clever and witty and with an ability to pick up a girl at the job centre of all places (does this kind of romance really happen, please let me know). But again and again he sets himself up to fail. Is he lost? Naïve?  Or is there no justification for his behaviour.  

The book moves from London to Paris. He takes his new love interest, Sally to Paris with some money that does not belong to him, but alas he takes her anyway. Here we have the city of love, art and bohemians, a place these two could quite easily fall in love and have the most wonderful time yet he fails at making that work too. Sally is a likeable character and I feel for her, a lot -  she deserves much more in this chaotic world she has landed in. Are these two meant for chaos or does it have disaster written all over it?

Available via Hyperidean Press