Asylum by Marcus Low

 

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Legend Press (15 April 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1789550343
• ISBN-13: 978-1789550344

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

Barry James is detained in a quarantine facility in the blistering heat of the Great Karoo. Here he exists in two worlds: the unforgiving reality of his incarceration and the lyrical landscapes of his dreams. He has cut all ties with his previous life, his health is failing, and he has given up all hope. All he has to cling to are the meanderings of his restless mind, the daily round of pills and the journals he reluctantly keeps as testimony to a life once lived.

And then there’s an opportunity to escape.

 

Review

Asylum by Marcus Low is a new genre for me as I haven’t read the Dystopian Genre before, but after reading this I may read more.  Sometime in the future the diaries of Barry James are found and are a piece of social history as they are the only written history of the Plague of 2022 and what it was like to be in the Asylum.  Barry’s diary entries make up the majority of the book but there are chapters from further in the future that asses his writings as a piece of historical testimony.

2022, not too far in the future, sees a world that seems to have economic and social problems.  There are hints at what is going on in the outside  world but for the most part the setting is the Asylum.  This is a quarantine facility for male patients of what they term as the plague, Pulmonary Nodulosis, a place where once you are admitted you probably won’t leave until you are dead.  On reading the book this facility is more like a maximum security prison with is setting in the middle of nowhere with electrocuted perimeter fence, armed guards on the outside, a dining hall, gangs and no visitors.  It’s clinical environment with very little to stimulate the mind give a bleak outlook.

Barry’s dairies give an insight into his character and his psychological state whilst incarcerated. His coping mechanism is to forget the outside world, not to think of those on the outside and his life before his incarceration.  We do get snippets into his life before in his meetings with therapist Ms Van Vuuren, an attractive red head, and the doctor in charge, Dr Von Hansmeyer.  What is interesting is that he becomes dependent on this meetings with Van Vuuren, and feels they have some connection; we all need to feel listened to and cared about and can’t completely cut ourselves off.  As well as life in the asylum, Barry also chronicles his dreams, which are at complete odds with the stark reality of his life.  He dreams of snow, dancing in times past and features staff at the asylum, lots of colour and sound.  Being set in the Great Karoo of South Africa, snow would not be something he would have seen; the dreams see to be a complete contrast to his life.  As he synopsis says there is an escape attempt, but I’m not going to say anything about that, I’ll let you read the book for yourself.

In Asylum, Marcus Lowe gives a vision of the future that seems very real and viable, and this is what makes this book such an unsettling read. We are privy to the thoughts and feelings of one man and how the effects of this forced incarceration and bleak outlook impact him.  It’s brilliantly written and utterly compelling and if I say a little bit frightening, this could be our future.  A great read that blends a harsh reality with vivid dreams of Barry’s imagination.

Thank you for taking he time to read my review.  You can keep up to date with my latest bookish posts by subscribing to my blog via email, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.  All your shares, likes and follows are much appreciated and keep me on track with my reviews.

Thank you to Legend Press and NetGalley for my copy of Asylum to read in return for an honest review.