For me, Ben Markovits’ The Rest of Our Lives really only got going once the protagonist was started on his road trip. Everything that came before seemed slightly confusing, as if I was being given too much information, too much back story. My conclusion was to wonder whether the book actually started in the wrong place, and whether all that up-front material might have been more effectively delivered in structured flashbacks.
I say ‘structured’ flashbacks because, although there are passages akin to flashback, they sometimes felt as if the story/narrator was just meandering off a straight line – though maybe that’s what we do. But hey, that may be me being over-critical, after all, the book made it to the Booker shortlist – which is, at the moment, something I can only dream of!
The ending (no spoilers!) was impressive in its recognition of process and detail. I was left wondering how much was research and how much either first- or second-hand lived experience…
Ian Gouge - Writer 