Not Dark Yet
By (Author) Nick Maes
Headline Publishing Group
Headline Review
4th June 2002
United Kingdom
Tertiary Education
Fiction
823.92
224
Width 221mm, Height 141mm
Unexpected romance blossoms on a trip to the Aeolian Islands in this funny and touching debut novel. Jake Jones - young, gay and party-loving - lets the offer of a free trip accompanying an unknown older woman to Italy lure him away from the London scene. His first meeting with the formidable Eva Bergstrom gets them off on the wrong footing - but as the holiday continues a spiky friendship starts to grow between the couple. They visit two startling and exotic islands: Vulcano - whose curative mud pools Eva is strangely reluctant to bathe in - and Stromboli, with its spectacular active volcano. And it's here, in the cool and restful house of Maria, that the two of them begin to understand what has happened in the past and what is happening now. A story about preconceptions dissolving, and about hedonism overtaken by sorrow, NOT DARK YET introduces a distinctive and alluring new voice.
Funny and sad, a bittersweet treat - Taki, 'Daily Express
Naive... is the reader who ignores the quieter contributions of writers like Nick Maes, a debut novelist whose book... provides a new insight into the problem of how to deal with a humanheart ina man's body - The TimesNick Maes's debut novel is a remarkably assured affair... funny, sad and peppered with pithy observations about love, sex, deathand the pursuit of happiness... it avoids the pitfalls of most "odd couple" stories, leaving just enough squabbling and emotional distance between the two main characters to make their story ring true... a hugely enjoyable read from start to finish. I gobbled it up in one sitting, and immediately wished I'd saved a few chapters to savour later. More please - Time Out[Maes's] depiction of the stuttering friendship between this unlikelypair is at times witty, at times wistful and ultimately deeply moving... NOT DARK YET is a beautifully orchestrated achievement. If you're looking for a summer read with a difference, this is it - Attitude magazineNick Maes was born in Shropshire, and came to London on a gap year - now indefinitely extended - after art school. As well as working backstage in theatre, in fashion, radio, and as a journalist, he has also PR'd and co-run night clubs.