Book review: Secrets of a past buried long ago

In 'Writers Anonymous' William Wall creates a claustrophobic, unsettling atmosphere, which becomes more dense as the story goes on.

William Wall weaves stories within stories with enthralling results. Picture: Liz Kirwan

• Writers Anonymous 
• William Wall 
• New Island, €16.95

Prolific writer William Wall’s eighth novel Writers Anonymous centres on successful writer Jim Winter. 

Set during the early days of the covid-19 pandemic, at the height of our uncertainty and fear, the novel’s backdrop acts as a dramatic scene-setter. 

The days in lockdown blend into one another and novelist Jim resolves to set up an anonymous online writer’s group.

“The idea came to me in the space between one irrational thought and another. The place where books come from.” 

And so the twisting plot of this novel kicks off. He advertises the writers group on social media and there is steady interest. 

With the help of his wife Catherine, Jim narrows the group down to five writers.

But already one, who calls herself Deirdre, stands out. Her submission shows she can write, but it’s more than that. 

Her story unnerves Jim. The content ignites memories of a time, and people he'd chosen to forget.

Cork man Wall’s writing is lyrical and he has a wonderful way with words that draw you into the story — not that you need much persuasion. 

It’s a pacy novel, and the construction, we’re reading a story within a story, and then a different version of that story, makes it all the more compelling.

As each week goes by and more of Deirdre’s story, of the unsolved murder of a boy named Mattie Lantry, is revealed, Jim knows she’s writing about his past, and a secret he’s never told anyone. 

But now he’s hooked. Hooked on Deirdre’s story, which is a version of the story he knows, but with new details.

“On the one hand I know what I’m reading is intended to be a piece of fiction, but at the same time I’ve come to believe in its reality … I would call it hyperreality except that an actual real lies behind it.” 

As lockdown eases, Jim decides to return to his childhood town of Rally to re-discover his past and try to unearth Deirdre’s identity. 

In doing so, Jim adds another layer to his already muddied reality.

“I am surprised to find myself living in a strange layered topography — the past and prehistory of the coastline, my own present, my childhood and the parallel world of Deirdre’s text, which seems to partake of all the other times because she is a living person writing now as I read, and because the events she describes are part of my own past and the history of the place.” 

Now ensconced in Rally, and alone after a heavy argument with his wife, Jim flits between the past and the present, treading the paths he took as a young man when the dramatic event of Mattie Lantry’s murder took place. 

He reconnects with characters from his past who have stayed in Rally, and we meet some of the people who could be Deirdre.

As Jim tries to uncover her identity, we are drawn further into the story, and through his own memories and Deirdre’s text we get an insight into who Jim was at that time. 

We also get ever closer to discovering what really happened to Mattie Lantry.

In Writers Anonymous Wall creates a claustrophobic, unsettling atmosphere, which becomes more dense as the story goes on. 

The pandemic environment is a wonderful vehicle to ramp up that feeling of disconnection and uncertainty, and serves to isolate Jim with his thoughts and memories. 

Will Jim, and us the readers, discover the real truth of what happened to Mattie Lantry?