Ellipsis
by Nikki Dudley

Release Date: 26th Apr 2010
Publisher: Sparkling Books
ISBN: 978 1 9072 3010 3
RRP: £14.99

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Eloquently crafted story following two strangers brought together through a death...

Ellipsis sells itself as a psychological thriller, but it couldn’t be further from the general consensus of what constitutes that genre. Focusing on the innermost thoughts and feelings of complete strangers: Alice (also known as Sarah) and Thom, who are brought together after the timely death of Thom’s cousin, Daniel, Ellipsis explores what it means to lose loved ones and how loss can lead to obsession and how the mind can unravel and confuse the two.

From the opening sentence, Ellipsis is strangely engaging: what is it about a red scarf that could make someone choose someone else? And what if that choice turns out to have been thrust on the other as some premeditated plan? Alice pushes a stranger under a train in a moment of abstract fury and impulse – but are her actions really impulsive and unsubstantiated – are anybody’s? Meanwhile, Thom is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his aloof and unknown cousin, who just happens to be the object of Alice’s malign outburst. When he discovers a note that appears to indicate the time and place of his cousin’s death, Thom decides to delve deeper into the stranger that was Daniel. Ellipsis asks how well we can ever know anyone else - or even ourselves, it also explores how the mind copes with trauma and stress.

Lyrical prose intertwines with an elegiac and introspective narrative. Rather than being pretentious, there is an earthy, inviting undertone to Dudley’s text, despite the curious storyline that plays with initial impressions and twists them around and around again. The plot is confusing at times; staggered as it is into concise paragraphs and clipped sentences with minimal dialogue. This is a work of literacy rather than prosaic shelf fodder. Think artsy, melancholic and slightly bewildering and you’ll be near enough to understanding Ellipsis; the pleasure is in the writing style rather than the content.