Slaughterhouse HeartWhat makes a father violent? It takes a brave man to find out . . . As a volunteer at St Margaret's Hospice, eager and helpful Meryl is looking for a role in life. The arrival of Jamie, the son of a patient, may be just what she is after. He is charismatic, young and, above all, troubled. Jamie's father has only days to live, but between father and son is a lifetime of misunderstanding and unhappiness. Could the most powerful legacy Jamie faces be an inability to love? With well-meaning Meryl hovering in the background, Jamie embarks on his long dark night, facing the secrets, lies and heartbreaks behind his father's life. Meanwhile his dying father, seemingly unconscious to it all, relives his extraordinary history, from his triumphs as a boxer, to the onset of a crippling illness he doesn't understand. And in the quiet of the night, he receives strange visitors of his own . . . Absorbing and provocative, this tale of redemption, forgiveness and love marks the emotive debut of a stunning new writer. |
