Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: In the Cool of The Evening
AUTHOR: Gordon Phillips
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 31 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 23, 2019
BLURB:
When recent college graduate Mark decides to visit to Europe to see the culture, a friend gives him a letter of introduction to an elderly man in Paris who “might be worth visiting.”
During their visit, the Parisian reads Mark a letter from a friend about a heart-breaking romantic gay encounter in a tiny Balkan town. Years have passed and the letter writer can’t find the town or person again, and has been haunted by this loss ever since.
The letter remains with Mark even after he returns home. It opens his eyes to sights and people he wouldn’t normally pay attention to. Can the new life lessons he’s learned help him in his own search for lasting love?
REVIEW:
When Architecture student, Mark, decides to visit Europe, he has an encounter that permanently changes his perspective on life.
This short story is a reflective piece that gets better as it progresses.
Mark travels to Europe in the early 90s. His first stop is the UK. He describes England and more specifically London, as drab. Being British myself, I agree parts of London can be that way, especially the parts described as having a dark film over the brickwork. While I am no fan of London, not all of it is doom and gloom, and I felt my British pride was somewhat hurt by the description. The overall picture of England may have slightly tainted my first view of the story a little, albeit the character tries to claw back some goodwill later.
The actual trip to Europe is skimmed over. Mark basically says where he went, naming places, with minimal imagery. The story takes off when Mark visits the person the letter (named in the blurb) was meant for. The elderly gentleman gives him tips on where to go to and is a patient listener. He reads a letter to Mark, detailing a loving encounter between two men. It was delightful, captivating, and for me the best part of the story.
The letter and the ensuing conversation permanently changes Mark’s perspective when looking at life, places and finding the love of his life. His observations made him conclude that the better looking you are, the less likeable. I disagree with Marks generalization, as I know people that prove all angles of the argument. But this outlook was kind of engineered to describe how Mark found the love of his life, with the underlying message of ‘look beneath the surface’.
The story is told in the first person, from Marks viewpoint. Technically it isn’t great. There are spelling mistakes. E.g. ‘of’ instead of ‘off’, ‘diffuse’ when it should have been ‘diffused’. A friend of mine suggested that it is a good practice to read a piece of work out loud as you read the actual words there, instead of the perceived ones. I found the advice invaluable. There are also flurries of the word ‘began’ and other niggling things.
In The Cool Of The Evening is a story about an event that changed Marks outlook and direction in life. It isn’t one man’s tour guide of Europe. There are elements that could alienate some readers and bring others on board. While it is let down by the technical aspects, I found that after reading, I thought back to the people and events that influenced my outlook on life. In that respect, the story is very thought-provoking.
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