Dead Writers in Rehab by Paul Bassett Davies

I have read more books than I can remember over the years and yet here is one by Paul Bassett Davies that I cannot place into any genre. Dead Writers in Rehab deserves a genre all for itself. It is a literary wonder. A brilliant and clever piece of writing if I saw one. A novel that was funded by donations through Unbound.

The first thing I have to say about Dead Writers in Rehab is that when I was approached a while back about this book I was to be honest not at all sure what I would make of this book that I first thought was very strange. But I am so pleased I read Paul’s book. It is just fabulous. It has everything a reader is looking for. It is ambitious and entertaining in every sense. I really could not put this book down. A novel in which the key character Foster James awakes to find himself in a rehab. But this is no ordinary rehab. Imagine waking to find you are not just in a rehab but a rehab with dead authors. Now add voices to these dead authors such as Dorothy Parker, Ernest Hemmingway, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge to name but a few. At firs the author who narrates his story is confused what is going on and is he really dead or sort of dead? I love humour in a story and this is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. Even for Foster James his way of finding out and coming to terms with the famous dead writers he is sharing this place with is just brilliant. His past has always been troubled and is no stranger to institutions. Hard living comes with a price and he is now paying for it. As much as this is a book packed full of great wit and humour there is in the story a real story in itself. Foster James is a literary star himself so he should be at home among some of the literary greats who have long since died yet he does not know how or why he is here, but he is. Hidden in this outstanding novel is a story of people and of love and of life. There is much to this story than I am going to tell. You need to grab a copy and settle in for a weekend with a book that is just pure literary genius. Unique and different but one worth investing in. If you love books you will love Dead Writers in Rehab.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

400 Pages.

Thank you to Natalie Galustian  (DHH Literary Agency) for the review copy of Dead Writers in Rehab.

Dead Writers in Rehab by Paul Bassett Davies is published by Unbound and was released on 4^th May 2017 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and all good bookshops.