Crash

Crash Synopsis

Novel: Crash The title, Crash, is how the story begins. Alex wakes up in Intensive Care in a coma, conscious about his surroundings, but no idea, initially, how he got there. Also, although he can hear what is going on, he can’t communicate, open his eyes or speak, so the reader joins him in trying to work out what on earth has happened. We learn slowly that he has crashed his car on a road he shouldn’t have been on, miles away from where he has told his wife he was going to be. The story is told through three characters – Alex, his wife Carrie and son, Jack -until Chapter 16, when a fourth voice reveals further details as to what has happened. The reader learns that the Saturday before the accident, the woman who Alex had an affair with seven years previously, Fran, turns up at his daughter’s birthday barbecue. She has no idea that he is the father of the girl, who uses her married name, and so both of them are horrified at the situation they’ve found themselves in. It’s possible that Alex was driving through Cheshire on the night of the crash to find Fran and, in a frantic state of mind, loses control of the car. But he isn’t able to recall anything for weeks after the accident. While he struggles to remember, his wife determines to find out why he lied about his destination that night and what has been going on. Alex is slow to recover from his serious injuries and to make matters more complicated, Jack, in his twenties and young and vulnerable, with a difficult past, falls for Fran and tries his best to involve her romantically. The narrative recalls the love affair between Alex and Fran from 7 years’ previously, detailing the start and the depth of the involvement and weaves the present relationship and past one as many facets continue to cause difficulties and deepen the sense of betrayal. It’s a house of cards. All the characters are shaped by their upbringing and extended family ties and responsibilities. And no-one wants the others to suffer. Something, somehow has to be worked out. ( Word count 123,400)

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