Book Review: Contacts
10.11.2020
Book Review | Contacts by Mark Watson
TW: Suicide
Mark Watson is, in my opinion, one of the sharpest, funniest and most articulate artists out there. As a kid my family spent summers at the Edinburgh Fringe and I remember discovering Watson for the first time sometime in my teens. He was hilarious then and he’s only got better since. His 24 hour comedy events are the stuff of legend and I’ve got a deluge of memories of sitting at the Pleasance Dome or in strange Edinburgh lecture halls, drunk with excitement and fatigue, as an ever perky Mark Watson leapt around the room. Four years ago I saw his newest show Flaws at the fringe. It was one of the first things I booked, even before I was on the train to Scotland. It was darker and sadder than his previous shows, incredibly personal and yet, still, funny. So funny.
As a novelist, Watson isn’t simply a comedian giving another form of writing a go. He’s a really, really good novelist. His books have the same blend of offbeat creativity, humour and thoughtfulness that characterises his stand-up. When my husband and I moved in together and unpacked our books we were delighted to find that between us we had the full Mark Watson oeuvre! OK, I’ll stop with the backstory and get on with the review!
Contacts, Watson’s newest novel, is about a thoroughly decent man named James Chiltern. James, for all his goodness and hard work in life, has found himself in a dark place. His girlfriend has left him, he’s fallen out with his sister, his Father has died and he’s been fired, by his best friend, from the job he loves. At —- he boards the sleeper train, texts all 156 contacts in his phone to say goodbye, switches it off and settles in for the journey to Edinburgh where he’ll end his life.
It’s a shocking premise, setting the stakes very high from the off, but it’s the gentle unravelling of the story that’s so compelling. The book switches between James rooting about in his memories and the characters receiving the text. From his estranged sister, now living in Australia, to his widowed Mother, his ex-girlfriend, ex-best friend and his current flatmate, everyone has their own reaction to the message. The question of who takes responsibility for James’ predicament, who decides to do something proactive and who excuses themselves from the responsibility, all this is masterfully explored by Watson.
Suicide is a tough subject to explore and although we do get insight into James’ state of mind, it’s not the only thing driving the novel. In a move that steps away from James’ immediate pain to also look at the sense of helplessness and disbelief felt by his friends and family, the story oscillates between the gravity of his situation and the way in which such a bombshell forces others to rethink what they know about the people in their lives. It’s a terrifying thought at its core but the regular flashbacks to revisit happier moments in James’ life means we get respite from the horror of what’s unfolding.
It’s the reaction of his sister Sally that I most connected with. Halfway across the world in Australia where she lives with her husband and has a successful career, she’s a woman with her own demons and flaws. As someone who deals with these by constructing a hard exterior around herself, filling her time, achieving, it turns out she’s not a woman best suited to grappling with such a terrifying, delicate situation.
I’m sure it was difficult for Watson to write the ending to this book. James himself notes during his train journey that he anticipates responses to his message. He expects people to try to stop him. But he doesn’t see that as proof of anything other than a panicked attempt to assuage their own guilt. He knows that ultimately it won’t change any of the reasons why he is where he is. Part of the magic of this book though are the surprises along the way. Who of his contacts engage. How it is that they do that. What their reasons are for doing so. The impact that the scenario has on their own relationships. I still don’t know how I feel about the ending he did decide on. No spoilers but I did feel that the decision, though interesting and nuanced, didn’t quite gel with the rest of the novel for me. That said, I highly recommend Contacts. It’s an easy reading, hard hitting little gem.