The Old Haunts
In spare, evocative prose, Allan Radcliffe tells a wistful coming-of-age story and paints a tender portrait of grief in all its complexities. Recently bereaved Jamie is staying at a rural steading in the heart of Scotland with his actor boyfriend Alex. The sudden loss of both of Jamie's parents hangs like a shadow over the trip.
In his grief, Jamie finds himself sifting through bittersweet memories, from his working-class upbringing in Edinburgh to his bohemian twenties in London, with a growing awareness of his sexuality threaded through these formative years.
In the present, when Alex is called away to an audition, Jamie can no longer avoid the pull of the past: haunted by an inescapable failure to share his full self with his parents, he must confront his unresolved feelings towards them.
Author: Allan Radcliffe
Publisher: Fairlight Books
Published: 09/19/2023
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781914148385
About the Author
Allan Radcliffe was born in Perth, Scotland, and now lives near Edinburgh. His writing has won the Allen Wright Award and the Scottish Book Trust New Writer's Award. With an MA from the University of Glasgow, he works as an arts journalist and editor, and is currently a theatre critic and feature writer for the Times. His short stories have been published in anthologies including Out There, The Best Gay Short Stories and New Writing Scotland, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The Old Haunts is his debut novel.