In Hades by Goldie Alexander (Celapene Press)ISBN 978-0-9750742-6-8
E-book ISBN 978-0-9750742-5-1
Reviewed by David Campbell
Homer’s
Odyssey might seem an odd choice as
the basis for a story written for young adults, but if that classic poem were
to be described as the original ‘road movie’ then what Goldie Alexander has
achieved with her verse novel In Hades
suddenly begins to make a lot of sense. Over the years there have been many
famous road movies, from our own Mad Max
and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of
the Desert, to the likes of Hollywood’s Easy
Rider, Thelma and Louise, Rain Man, and Little Miss Sunshine.
That’s
a fairly mixed bag, but the common thread throughout is the journey undertaken
by the central characters, a journey of discovery and self-revelation.
Alexander has explored the complex notion of redemption though the adventures
of Kai, a 17-year-old boy who, in a daring plot-twist, dies at the very
beginning of the story when he crashes a stolen car. Kai’s younger brother Rod,
who is autistic, is also killed in the crash, and it is Kai’s search for Rod in
Hades that leads him to encounter all manner of monsters and physical
challenges that have to be overcome.
But
In Hades is not just a gripping
adventure tale, it’s also a love story, for Kai meets up with the anorexic
Bilby-G, and their journey together becomes one of mutual self-discovery.
This
is an ambitious project, and one of the keys to its success is the poetry, for
Alexander has effectively managed the difficult feat of marrying the action
(and the romance) to the rhythms and cadences of the verse. The book is not one
poem, but 49 of them, each with its own distinctive structure and voice. So we
begin with the dramatically brief opening (The
Accident), which scatters words on the page as we might imagine the
shattered wreckage of the car strewn across the road, and then moves to the
more tightly structured, yet still confused, second poem (After!), in which Kai comes to the realisation that he is dead.
Bilby-G
arrives on the scene in poem 15 (Meeting
Bilby-G), but before then we have learnt something of Kai’s troubled
background, most of his problems arising after his step-father walks out (he
doesn’t know his biological father) and takes up with another woman who rejects
the two boys. Kai’s experiences during this time will resonate with quite a few
young people and provide a useful basis for discussion, the poem titles alone
striking a chord…for example Sleeping Out,
Street Kids, and No Fixed Address.
The
rest of the book follows Kai and Bilby-G as they are, in a sense, reborn,
rediscovering the people they were before their lives went downhill. We learn
what brought Bilby-G to this point, and begin to see the degree of guilt that
haunts both of them and the truth that has to be faced, best summed up by an
old man they meet along the way who tells them that they must seek forgiveness
and then forgive themselves if they are to find peace. The physical challenges
they encounter, which include a dangerous sea voyage involving whirlpools, sea
nymphs (shades of Ulysses and the Sirens) and, finally, a one-eyed monster,
provide the means to this end.
The
book operates on several levels. Firstly, there’s the “What happens next?”
element of the story itself, finding out who (and what) Kai and Bilby-G meet,
and how they react. Then there’s the background, the events that led up to
their deaths and the sort of people they were…there’s ample material for debate
in the way they interacted with their families and the understanding they
eventually come to about that. And finally there’s the poetry itself, with the
multitude of formats providing the stimulus for discussion about the use of
language and poetic structure to enhance the ancient art of story-telling.
This
last, for me, is the most interesting, but that won’t be the case for everyone.
Responses to poetry are, naturally, very subjective, and the challenge for
those unfamiliar with the genre will be to come to some understanding of what
the writer is trying to do. That doesn’t mean universal agreement, of course,
and there are certainly some sections that I would have tackled differently,
but that is where verse can add an extra dimension to the tale being told.
There is considerable value, and much to be learned, in teasing out the various
techniques employed and looking at possible alternatives. This not only
enhances appreciation, but prompts readers to take an interest in having a go
for themselves.
The
inventive use of language is a powerful instrument, and I recommend In Hades as something out of the
ordinary that should provide an excellent source of stimulating material for a
variety of young adult readers.
