First published 2007
The narrator guides readers through Liverpool's streets and stories using DVD technology as a lens for urban exploration. Heatley creates a character who discovers the city's hidden narratives by following digital breadcrumbs left in multimedia formats. The protagonist moves between real locations and virtual spaces, uncovering how residents document their own experiences through recorded media. Each chapter presents a new neighborhood where DVDs serve as time capsules containing personal histories. The central tension emerges as the narrator struggles to distinguish between authentic memories and constructed digital stories. Local voices speak through found footage and recorded testimonials, creating a chorus of Liverpool experiences. The emotional core rests in how technology preserves human connection across time and distance.
Genres: adventure, contemporary, technology, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Liverpool
Period: 21st-century
128 pages · Hardcover · Green Umbrella Publishing