T
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley October 3, 2022
Author Alan Fyfe
Distributor: Transit Lounge
ISBN: 978-0-648414-03-2
Publisher: Transit Lounge
Release Date: September 2022
Website: https://transitlounge.com.au/shop/t/
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Modern, hard hitting, truthful and yet gentle, Allan Fyfe has captured the true devastation of the world of drugs, dealing and reality in his novel “T”, a work that captures the blurred lines of reality that exist once the pathway to drug use is chosen.
T is or was once a young man with a future, a pathway to a career, a passion for music and a mother who, while dysfunctional at times loved him. Growing up in the Mandurah region of Peel he learned the hard way about survival, until he took that first step into a world only known to users.
In one-day T is reminded of the fragility of life. Going to his dealer mate Gulp place he sees an ambulance outside his silo home, two policemen looking on smoking cigarettes. In a series of disastrous minutes, one of the ambo’s removing Gulps body falls through a rotten timber step and the body on the gurney becomes airborne.
Several hours later he is driving along the road to Yunderup when he stops as a body appears to fall from heaven directly in front ofthis car! It was simply all too much. This introduces T or Timothy or Tim as he was once, in a manner that is careful, gentle with words and eloquently creates the emotion required that runs throughout the duration of the story.
An acceptance of hopelessness, of bewilderment and a deep sense of loss, not understood, but recognised runs alongside the delusional microcosm of a world out of touch with reality. Central to the story is Lori-Bird a quietly decisive figure, T does not treat well, as well as a cast of others who populate the seedy side of town, all out for a deal, all looking for something unattainable.
Gulp, although dead, adds a little heavenly wisdom from time to time, which occasionally brings some sanity into T’s very mixed up world; a world where he realises he is a mess of humanity but feels powerless to be able to do anything about it.
Fyfe has fashioned a powerful tale based around the history of the Peel region and the indigenous people, the overwhelming distortion prevalent in the world of meth-amphetamine use, the lack of any ability to make any sort of rational decision and the tragedy of a young life gone, wasted forever.
Will there be any sort of peace, or happiness for T or has he gone far too far over the edge to ever find his way back? Does he even want too is the question posed, as Fyfe presents very cleverly and clearly the all too real world that is a very normal part of modern day society.
“T”: is it a novel that needed to be written; Yes, it is. Is it a comfortable read, in parts, yes, as it has some very much larger than life characters and a Shetland pony. A wry sense of humour often and unexpectedly occurs, to lighten the moment but overall, the ever present sense of hopelessness, of futility and desperation tends to make this a book best read gently, in your own space and time.