After the Man Before
Alan Mahar
The second novel from the accomplished author of Flight Patterns - "a writer of substance, patience and real flair" (Jim Crace) - tells the mysterious history of a terraced house
When I started writing these notes, it was just a bit of a game. A few clues to leave about the house. Something about my life. For whoever came next. Is it 2000 yet? Have they found a cure for Big C? It is the 1980s and recession, crime and violence dominate the inner cities. Social worker Elizabeth invests in a small terraced house in Birmingham which represents to her a place where dreams of a family and settled life could become a reality. She persuades her client Richard, a repressed artist with an art-from-found-objects aesthetic, to move into the house and take on the task of refurbishment. But a house has a history, and in the process of regenerating this "new" space Richard uncovers mysterious and shocking letters from the Man Before. In spite of her attempts to erase the lingering presence of the previous occupant, Elizabeth realises that the history of her house has huge impact on the neighbours, as she learns of the conflict that devastated their lives.
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About Alan Mahar Alan Mahar was born in Huyton, Liverpool. He was a college lecturer in English at Solihull College, and then worked as as editor, copywriter and short story writer before writing his first novel Flight Patterns. He was Founder of Tindal Street Fiction Group in 1982 and Tindal Street Press, 1996/7.
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