'You have reached a moment quiet enough to hear the sound of my voice: so now, as you stare out into the darkness, accept the comfort it can give you - and the love. The love.'

Utterly compelling, deeply moving, often hard to read, this is an extraordinary book which deserves to be read by everyone. Written entirely in the second-person, this is the story of Morris Magellan, a 34 year-old executive in a firm selling biscuits, married with two small children. He is, also, a barely functioning alcoholic, and as his descent into the very worst moments of darkness spirals out of control, the remarkable achievement of this novel truly comes into its own. The ever-insistent 'you' of the book - Morris's own voice watching himself from outside his body, as it were - also means that we as readers watch the events through this perspective too. Convinced that he is managing his relationship with alcohol, we can see the true extent of the damage that it is doing to both his career and his family.

Us Scots have a troublesome relationship with the demon drink and this, together with perhaps an equally powerful book in AL Kennedy's 'Paradise', are brilliant but uncomfortable books that explore this. With a foreword from Irvine Welsh, and an interesting afterword from the author himself explaining the troubled publication history of this novel, this book has been justifiably hailed as a classic. Let us, please, not lose this again to the void. This is a remarkable, troubling, deeply lyrical book that explores some dark places and offers, well, I'll leave that for you to decide. An absolute must-read. ( )

Moving and emotional account of an alcoholic. The narrator gives a distance to the account but it still feels personal. ( )

The best books about the human psyche and it's deficiencies make you question yourself and have a good look at your own possible issues. This is one of those books. If you have never had mental health problems hen perhaps you won't fully grasp how this book beautifully portrays a middle aged man trying not to drown in life. Essential reading. ( )

[SPOILER]

I don't know if this book was influenced by Eric Berne's writing but it fits nicely into Transactional Analysis (eg his book "What Do You Say After You Say Hello?").
A tiresome clever wally marketing manager uses alcohol to hide his damaged emotional state (from childhood) and support his playacting marriage and working life. He slides into a downward spiral but instead of arriving at the scripted crash, his inner (adult) voice pushes aside the child and gently helps him to help himself and successfully challenge the root of the problem, in this case his dead father.
A short but interesting book about alcoholism. ( )

http://lizzysiddal.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/the-sound-of-my-voice-ron-butlin/ ( )