View summaries and artwork of books in the Me-Town Pocket Multiverse by scrolling below.
Gritty urban dramas full of traumas and tragedies, stories close to home for readers, which could have feasibly happened on their streets, blocks or in their neighbourhoods, yet told in a hyperbolic fictional way, realistic yet kernels of truth are buried in narrative. Me-Town is full of ugly truths and the sufferings of the human condition. Transgressions, taboos, drugs, sex, violence, loss, grief, mental illness, corruption, the dirty shadow-self you keep supressed from the world and from yourself. Me-Town tackles complex emotive themes and topics. The Rotbox novels are in this pocket. Two of which are already written.
The Rotbox novels are in this pocket. Two of which are already written. The Rotbox (Kingsley Court) is a crime ridden fictional high-rise council estate in Coventry. Constructed upon the ashes of the blitz, the Kingsley court high-rise flats are more than just a social housing project. They’re an experiment of social confinement, the equivalent of the Stanford prison experiment amplified to a whole community. A concrete grey box, sixteen floors high, twenty-five flats along each floor of the four blocks and gated off from the city of Coventry, restrained more some with ten-foot chainmail fencing and its own corrupt community policing unit. Some of the wires crossing the bottom of the chainmail fences have been torn away and upscaled, lined between the higher floors of the towers, amongst the washing lines, for dealers to distribute drugs to their clients.
Come visit the Rotbox but bring your wellies and stab vest!
Our Fathers is deeply psychological disturbing book. Set in a crime ridden fictional high-rise council estate in Coventry (Kingsley Court- The Rotbox), Our Fathers is an autobiographical fictional account of Bali Doshi’s tragic life. Bali is an intelligent mixed-race boy, born into a life of horrific domestic abuse at the hands of his father. Bali begins to write his autobiographical account as he progresses from the nightmare stage of his life to the destruction or death wish stage - the point of no return.
This book is primarily the emotional and moralistic ark of Bali and his extraordinary resilience to help his sister Sindy, girlfriend Tiffany and his son Darpan, escape a life of poverty, addiction, and abuse.
Some times the most difficult monsters to face are personifications of traumatic childhood memories.
Comp titles and influences - Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra has been one of my favourite books for many years, parts of Our Fathers are comparable to Sleepers. Bali’s manifestation of mental illness has similarities to the bizarreness of Donnie Darko’s behaviours. The British borstal system was graphically and violently depicted in a British drama film called Scum in 1979, starring Ray Winstone, I believe this film had an influence on me whilst I wrote this book. Many will recall reading Buddy by Nigel Hinton whilst in school. Our Fathers is an R-rated, much more twisted and messed up comparison to Nigel Hinton’s Buddy.
The Iron bridge and woodlands in this book are real, I’ve attached a recent photograph of the bridge. I played there as a kid with my childhood best friend Robert. Robert lived a few doors down from the woods leading to the bridge. Robert was stabbed to death at the age of 21. Robert and I were inseparable until we joined secondary school at the age of 11. During the first year of secondary school Robert was moved to another tutor group and we drifted apart. I believe that whilst this book isn’t about Robert, some unresolved trauma may have subconsciously been driving elements of my writing. In this respect, I believe parts of this book are introspective explorations.
Transgressive Fiction’s influence on Me-Town
Transgressive fiction is a genre that focuses on characters who feel restricted by society's norms and who rebel in unconventional ways. Protagonists may appear rebellious or unconventional, exploring taboo topics like drugs, sex, violence, and crime. This genre, defined by critic Michael Silverblatt, is similar to elements of splatterpunk, noir, and erotic fiction in pushing boundaries and shocking readers but tends to show characters seeking self-improvement through extreme means. It often delves into themes of self-discovery, peace, and freedom, aiming to provide social critiques unconstrained by traditional literary norms.
The Ballad of Wuthering Descent
The Ballad of Wuthering Descent, a dark and deep, transgressive black comedy of Edgar Heathcliff’s struggle to exist in a world that has no place for him. Expect an anarchistic drama with psychological thriller elements. The Ballad of Wuthering Descent boasts an alienated Byronic hero, narrating a nonlinear narrative of his life and how he came to his final predicament. The resolution will keep readers talking about the book long after reading, drawing inferences of poetic justice.
Edgar Heathcliff is a devoted father to his daughter Willow. He is moralistic and coded in his own outlandish way. Yet he is an abrasive and deeply troubled man. After serving time he is attempting to rebuild his life and relationship with his daughter Willow. He is rehoused in a hellhole high-rise council estate in Coventry- The Rotbox. He is promising a night of ultra-violence. In the background NAVO- The New Aged Vehmic Order terrorist group are causing mayhem on the family courts. Edgar isn’t sure of his involvement.
Edgar’s life has been torn apart by domestic abuse, coercive control and the false allegations of his ex-girlfriend Cindy (Mother of his daughter), and her sociopathic maternal grandmother Narcissa who is an ex-police officer, thus has developed many skills, methods and co-conspirators of filthy wickedness.
Edgar Heathcliff is recounting his tragic and darkly comical story. It’s not mentioned anywhere in the book but the switching back and forward between three narrative periods of Edgar Heathcliff’s life is a representation of the effects of his trauma, a bit like the narrative of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.
Can Edgar escape the Rotbox?
This book sits amongst other works of transgressive fiction such as, Fight Club, A Clockwork Orange, Trainspotting, Filth, American Psycho and The White Tiger, to name a few.
