The Ledge, Christian White

Christian White is an author who can always be relied upon to come up with an unusual scenario, great characters and a rollercoaster plot that will keep readers enthralled, and vaguely baffled from start to finish.

Told in dual timelines, THE LEDGE is a story that spans childhood friendship and old secrets haunting very different adult lives. Twenty five years before the current timeline of this novel, Justin, Aaron, Chen and Leeson were typical young boys growing up in a small regional town in the Victorian mountains. They ride their bikes, wonder about girls, all pretty normal, until a tragic chain of events that haunts them into their adulthood. An adulthood that for a few of them is very complicated.

Dual timelines are nothing new these days, and they come with varying degrees of success. This one is slightly on the jarring side, told as it is from a single point of view, with the constant suspicion that when the reader is inside one head, the view could be skewed or deliberately obfuscating.

To be fair though, that observation only came to this reader at the end because the suspense is palpable in THE LEDGE, as is an overwhelming atmosphere of dread and "something not quite right". Starting at the opening stanzas when the narrator of the story seems almost reluctant to reveal his separation from his wife and family complications, and the reason why, after the discovery of a long dead body in the bush, he is compelled to return to his childhood home town of West Haven.

The dialogue is, however, spot on, right from when the four young boys were firm friends, to the current day awkwardness of three re-uniting. From the interactions with ex-wives, old friends, and people from the town who remember them, and what's known about the events from their past. There's also a clever use of place - from the small town - to the railway line - leading to a hidden path to The Ledge. A rocky outcrop known to the locals, used for parties, and more sinister events, The Ledge hangs over the town, and the boy's lives like a living / breathing entity. White also uses these places - the town, the ledge, the railway line alongside the boys, then and now, to explore themes of friendship, loyalty, masculinity - positive and toxic, and the way that young men who grow up in small towns with tragedy can so often find it a struggle to deal with that.

Having said all of that White's not known as "the master of the unexpected" for no reason and even coming to THE LEDGE expecting something, looking for it even, the twist, when it arrived, came utterly out of nowhere.

I don't know why I always seem to be behind with reading Christian White's books - every single time I finish one I kick myself for not jumping it to the top of the queue immediately on release.