The Sting Inside

On November 27th we met at Rob's house. We did our usual 'any news' around the group and heard that Annie already has plans for her next children's book entitled Lazy Days at the Beach Cafe, Tony has made progress with his article for Mental Health Practice, Chris is considering working on a coffee-table version of Why Don't You Fly, Rob is now a star of Radio 4 and I am about to start work on the re-write of my book. All in all, we are a busy lot. We also discussed Jayne's attendance at our next meeting on December 11th at Annie's house. If an extract from Chris's book doesn't put a new member off then nothing will! Welcome, Jayne.

Rob read a powerful extract from The Sting Inside which was enjoyed by all. It struck me how difficult it must be to aptly describe the horror of an event that is still so vividly etched in our minds. I don't think that anyone could forget the television footage of the attack on the twin towers and the hideous pictures of people leaping to their death. Rob described this so well by focusing on one person, a woman jumping from the tower clutching a pair of high heels. 'Did she think she was going to need them when she reached the ground?' Rob asks.

Annie asked why the woman answering the phone in the Shapiro home hadn't recognised Jay's voice when clearly an English voice would stand out.

Chris and Tony expressed doubt about Rob's use of the word 'we' for Jay and the Sting, the voice of 'guilt'. We understand that the Sting is the narrator but at times the two voices must be separated which then seems awkward. Rob defended his position on this saying they were like Siamese twins dragging one another along.

We all agreed that the piece had a great sense of drama and that the voice of 'guilt' works very well. 'Toast! They're toast, Jay and you should be up there with them.' Tony asked if the voice was English or American and Rob said that he wasn't sure at the moment.

There were some great lines in this. I particularly liked 'There is an absence, the imagined outline of a space filled with sky, where the second tower should be.' This was a gripping read, poignant and powerful. We all enjoyed it, Rob.