I originally read the first two parts of Rum Hijack when they were published as separate editions and I have been waiting for the third part to come out. The story is now published as one complete work, which is much more satisfactory.
I enjoy stories told in the first person, I like getting right inside a character, being privy to all their thoughts and emotions and those of the unnamed narrator of this tale are extraordinary. Our protagonist believes himself to be the all-conquering author of a masterpiece of literary magnificence. The only problem being that he hasn’t written one word of it…yet. He lives an eccentric lifestyle in his flat and tries to channel his Grandfathers spirit as if believing this will funnel some sort of divine inspiration that will overcome his writer’s block and allow his words to be unleashed upon the waiting world.
I thoroughly enjoyed Moss’s writing. Graphically descriptive it’s sharply quick witted and highly perceptive of this would be writer’s unusual lifestyle. An emergency potato – why haven’t I ever thought of having one of those? I loved the dark humour throughout this tightly written story and there were many, many priceless moments which made up a fabulous read.
By the end of part one our narrator has named himself Inkker Hauser. His relationships are disastrous and you would never want to have him as your neighbour but I liked him very much.
In part two you need to buckle up to take on the ride that is Inkker when he goes on a date with the lovely Tylissa.
He drinks a staggering amount and wanting to impress her with his intellectual and literary genius spouts all sorts of what to most people would be nonsense but which Inkker is earnestly serious about – this ‘A psychonaut. A sailor of the soul, a navigator of the mind. I happen to be something of one’ is how he describes himself to her. As the drink takes hold his behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and you can only sympathise with poor Tylissa and admire her tenacity for hanging on in there particularly when he does something that is a definite no-no in my book!
Most of the second part of this darkly humorous novel is taken up with the date. That might seem like a lot of words just to describe a date but every one of them is needed in order to convey the sheer craziness as it descends into mayhem for Inkker. There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t like this narrator and yet I really do. In some bizarre way, considering how he behaves, he comes across as fragile and endearing and I feel protective of him especially when he is aware of being mocked by others.
Because it’s written in the first person we are exposed to his thoughts, feelings and anxieties and these show his vulnerability and increasing desperation as the night unravels. But nothing that has gone before compares to the pain you can feel Inkker going through when he gets home and meets his new neighbour.
I was delighted to eventually get to read the finale to Rum Hijack and it is every bit as good as the first two parts.
The new neighbours, Claire, who calls him Inky, and Adrian, a writer of novels, invite Inkker to a flat warming party telling him to ‘dress fancy’ a term he misunderstands but I loved the amount of planning that went into his appearance.
Inkker’s behaviour is becoming more and more wild. He’s banned from his local, The Laughing Goat, but when he goes to make the peace in an attempt to be allowed back in he can’t help but cause more trouble. His eccentric domestic habits become more and more surreal, I mean, the mannequin, what is going on there? Throughout this final part his violent thoughts and destructive actions escalate to levels that wreak havoc on his life and then there is a devastating setback for him, the desperate grief that follows all consuming.
Excellently written I would recommend this to everyone who fancies reading something highly original and totally entertaining – and don’t we all want to do that? I truly hope to read much more from this terrific writer in the future.
Thanks for the great review, Georgia and glad you liked it. What, I can’t help but wonder, did you think was “a defnite no-no”? Haha 😀 Apreciate it, thanks a lot 🙂
Ah now then, it was when amongst all the chaos of that date he’d drunk everything to hand and then picked up Tylissa’s wine glass and drank that – I would not have been impressed, not one little bit 😉 Anyway glad you liked it and I hope you are working on something else.