Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson

The title of this book, Mouth to Mouth, could refer to the act of resuscitation, of bringing someone back to life, which is the catalyst of this tale. Perhaps it also refers to the passing of information mouth to mouth or maybe the sustenance given to the young by the adult feeding mouth to mouth.

This is a frame tale where a writer meets an old schoolfriend, who tells him about his life and how it changed after he saved the life of an older man. He never heard how the man got on after his near-death experience and neither was he thanked. His curiosity to find out about this man became obsessive until he eventually becomes part of his family and business.

The chapters are fairly short and told mainly from the perspective of the old schoolfriend. We question whether this never-been-told-before is true and how much of it is real; what is worth valuing and what isn't. As well as this, is it true that if you save someone's life you own them? Or have some influence somehow, a responsibility for ensuring that a life is worth saving perhaps. All things to think about.

An interesting novel that left me with things to ponder. Recommended.

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Published by Atlantic Books on 3 March 2022.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.