Life Number Nine by Joe Heap

A creative well-written book about connections and finding your place in the world.

This is a story set in London, about a couple who meet as strangers but have a feeling of familiarity about each other. They share dreams that feature each other in other places and different times, like both being Roman gladiators, for example. They each have their own baggage, but not abusive relationships or mental health issues, the type of things that are too common in novels, but recovering from a car accident and an expired visa.

Each trio of chapters focuses on one month in the present day, but it begins with what is happening scientifically in the world, how many hours are spent giving birth and other statistical information. The end of the chapter includes poetry, playscript or tablet carvings. All interesting stuff. Within the chapter are the events and thoughts of both characters, so sometimes a re-read is needed to put the narrative into context. A little irritating at first but then I came to realise that the two people are intricately connected that this jumbled up storytelling is actually perfect for a tale such as this.

The couple are interesting with depth of character and are compassionately depicted, especially the man. Their story is touching and immensely readable. The dreams (or memories?) are at times a tad confusing and tend to drag a bit in places. The themes of freedom, finding your place, travel and belonging to the world are reflected in his interest in birds and her owning a bus.

Perhaps not a unique idea, this book is original in its imaginative situations. Rather sad, it’s not one of those romantic love stories. Nice to read something different by a very talented author.