A story about family, memory and memories, forgiveness and hope.
Whiskey & Charlie
Annabel Smith
SOURCEBOOKS Landmark
ISBN: 9781492607861
Description:
A captivating debut novel of brothers who have drifted apart and the accident that will determine their future, by an unforgettable new voice in fiction.
Some twins communicate in a secret language all their own. For Whiskey and Charlie Ferns, the two-way alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta) whispered back and forth over their crackly walkie-talkies is the best they can do. But as the brothers grow up, they grow apart. Whiskey is everything Charlie is not-bold, daring, carefree-and Charlie blames his brother for always stealing the limelight, always striving ahead while seeming to push Charlie back. By the time the twins reach adulthood, they are barely even speaking to each other.
When Charlie hears that Whiskey has been in a terrible accident and has slipped into a coma, he is shocked…although perhaps not devastated. But as days and weeks slip by and the chances of Whiskey recovering grow ever more slim, Charlie is forced to look back on their lives and examine whether or not Whiskey’s actions were truly as unforgivable as Charlie believed them to be.
My View:
This is a very moving, emotional and up lifting book that will engage and challenge some of your perceptions and attitudes about the people that surround you and the memories and beliefs we carry around with us – some assisting us in life’s journey, some holding us back. This is a narrative that reflects on a family and their individual reactions to and about a sibling critically injured in a car accident. Their responses, their strengths and weaknesses, their inner turmoil and fears slowly revealed as family secrets and myths are washed clean and truths faced.
Annabel Smith delivers well developed characters, big emotions and plenty of material for reflection. Cleverly Smith uses the scenario of identical twins to explore relationships, memories, values, envy and guilt by dipping back and forward into the lives of the two brothers. I was surprised that as I became more involved in the book, the less I liked Charlie – his stubbornness, his jealousy, his lack of confidence in himself and his inability to share his emotions. Under the surface this “sensible” twin was slowly revealed as emotionally stunted, thankfully he was not beyond redemption.
A very moving and challenging read that will leave you examining your own relationships and beliefs.
Reading, Writing and Riesling 
It certainly sounds like a very personal sort of story, Carol. To me, those are the ones that always work the best: the kind where those larger themes of friendship, sibling relationships and so on are brought to the human level. Glad you enjoyed this.
Margot- what a perfect description of the book!
I think relationships, whoever they are, are bound by perception. We perceive what the other person meant when they said that, but it might not actually have been what they meant. It can cause a lot of issues. This sounds interesting and poignant.
It was Rebecca…a good read,
I can’t believe I missed this when it came out, but note it’s now out in the US etc. I must definitely read it!
I missed it to when published in here 🙂 Hope you c an catch up with it Deb. So many books….so little time.