by D. M. Thomas
First published 2020
John Trenear lives in a stark London tower block at 84, cut off from modern life after his wife's death. The retired widower shuns television and social media, finding today's world foreign to his Cornish Christian upbringing. When coronavirus lockdowns begin, John remains oblivious to the global crisis unfolding around him. The word "Corona" means only one thing to him: the bubbly drink from his boyhood. He watches the empty streets from his flat window on VE Day, baffled by the silence where celebration should be. No bottles pop open with festive fizz like the street parties he recalls. His bewilderment deepens when authorities accuse him of committing something called a "hate crime." Thomas crafts John's story as a fictional verse journal, capturing an old man's disorientation in a world that has moved beyond his understanding. The narrative balances humor with the painful reality of elderly isolation, exploring how disconnection from modern communication leaves John stranded in his own confusion.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, generational-divide
Setting: Cornwall, London
Period: VE Day
124 pages · Paperback · The Cornovia Press
Content warnings: mental-illness