I’ve avoided using the word ‘dystopia’ when talking about the new book because I don’t believe it’s a dystopian novel. It is darkly realist at times and I don’t shy away from shining a bright light of truth on characters and events so that the shadows are revealed.
But in addition to this, there’s many beautiful moments of connection, with the land, with other people, and with technology. You just have to be prepared to look. It’s also the first book in a trilogy so there has to be that symphony of movement – the highs and lows.
The women in my book are complex, diverse, characters and as such there’s no simple key or way into understanding their thoughts and motivations. Their spiritual awakenings are unique to each of them, often layered with difficult emotions and decisions because this is the truth of life.
The poetic soul is not something that can be measured or bought. Sometimes revealing herself at the most inconvenient moments, she demands we take note, that we stop and engage. However, humans are contrary ego-led beings and so maybe we don’t want to hear what the Earth’s poetic spirit is telling us.
All of this feeds into the narrative arcs of the main protagonists, who are trying their best to navigate the waters of truth and time in a rapidly changing world.
? Andy Garside, taken in Slovenia April 2019.
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