Past Imperfect by GD Harrison is a short story that focuses on the family relationships between social worker Colin and his mother and one of Colin’s patients Samuel, and his family Josie and Steve. This book is interesting from the start, as we are introduced from Samuel’s perspective, with more information gradually incorporated. I was interested to find out who the characters were and what was happening from the start and keen to read the story to the end. As this is a rather short book the characterisation happens quickly and easily, you immediately get to grips with the nuances of each character and their personal struggles while the main plot progresses. A tale of family secrets, strain and loss with a brilliant ending, this book can be read in a single sitting and I think would be enjoyed by people who like family drama and modern and contemporary fiction.
Colin Smith is a Social Worker and has been on this planet for about five decades. He lives with his mother in a quiet town where nothing much happens. He enjoys his vocation, specialising in one-to-one interaction with people who are not expected to live much longer. He is trained in the counselling of patients and their families as they travel along the journey involving the inevitable death of a loved one. Colin has one particular patient that challenges him, as their symptoms don’t match the expected journey which the textbooks dictate, and he is drawn into an intriguing world of new lessons for both his patient and himself as he develops new ideas to ease their situation. But Colin becomes involved in his own personal journey as his mother divulges news that changes the normally level-headed Colin, and it is he who is perhaps in need of help as he uncovers more and more about his own life. Family secrets unfold and Colin has to try and adapt his once-stable life to include his new status. Even then, further unexpected revelations push Colin beyond the edge of his passive demeanour.
